Gender, gender roles and completion of nursing education: A longitudinal study

The current worldwide nursing shortage and high attrition of nursing students remain a challenge for the nursing profession. The aim of this paper was to investigate how key psychological attributes and constructions differentiate between completers and non-completers of nursing education. A questio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nurse education today 2010-05, Vol.30 (4), p.303-307
Main Authors: McLaughlin, Katrina, Muldoon, Orla T., Moutray, Marianne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Attrition
Career Choice
Female
Gender
Gender Identity
Humans
Logistic Models
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Medical education
Men - education
Men - psychology
Multivariate Analysis
Nurse education
Nurses, Male - education
Nurses, Male - psychology
Nursing
Nursing education
Nursing Education Research
Nursing Methodology Research
Personality Inventory
Personnel Selection
Questionnaires
Sex Role
Stereotypes
Stereotyping
Student Dropouts - psychology
Student Dropouts - statistics & numerical data
Students, Nursing - psychology
Students, Nursing - statistics & numerical data
Surveys and Questionnaires
United Kingdom
Women - education
Women - psychology
Workforce planning
Young Adult
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Summary:The current worldwide nursing shortage and high attrition of nursing students remain a challenge for the nursing profession. The aim of this paper was to investigate how key psychological attributes and constructions differentiate between completers and non-completers of nursing education. A questionnaire including measures of gender role identity and perceived gender appropriateness of careers was administered to 384 students early in the first year of the course. At the end of the programme attrition rates were obtained. The findings indicate that males were more likely to leave the course than females. Furthermore, those who completed the course tended to view nursing as more appropriate for women, in contrast to the non-completers who had less gender typed views. The female-dominated nature of nursing, prevalent stereotypes and gender bias inherent in nursing education seem to make this an uncomfortable place for males and those with less gendered typed views. Whilst it is acknowledged that attrition is undoubtedly a complex issue with many contributing factors, the nursing profession need to take steps to address this bias to ensure their profession is open equally to both female and male recruits.
ISSN:0260-6917
1532-2793
DOI:10.1016/j.nedt.2009.08.005