PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERCEPTION AND CHOICE OF NURSING AS A PROFESSION: A STUDY AT KORLE - BU NURSES’ TRAINING COLLEGE

Abstract

This paper explored the psychosocial factors influencing the perception and choice of nursing as a profession by student nurses. Three hundred and sixty student nurses (N=360) were systematically sampled from Korle - Bu Nurses’ Training College in the Accra Metropolis in Ghana. A self-designed questionnaire on the students’ perception of the nursing profession and the factors that influenced their choice of nursing as a career was administered to students in their first, second and third year of study in the programme. The results were analyzed using ANOVA and Chi square Test of Independence. The findings of the study revealed that the students had a favourable perception of nursing as a profession. The psychosocial factors that influenced their choice of nursing included, the opportunity that the profession will offer for them to travel abroad and influence from parents. It was recommended that the government should formulate policies to upgrade remunerations for professional nurses in the country to minimize the exodus of nurses since the study indicated that students had high levels of intention to travel abroad after graduation.