Indonesian Students' Reasons for Choosing to Study Nursing: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Many Indonesian nurses face uncertain placement owing to the low absorptive capacity of the public and private sector health facilities, which may influence new students to choose nursing as a career. Thus, determining students’ reasons for choosing to study nursing remains important to help nursing educators develop programmes to retain them in the nursing profession. This study aimed to determine why new students choose to enter the nursing profession. This was a phenomenological study using focus group discussions with twenty nursing diploma students who were selected to participate in this study at the beginning of their first year of study. Van Manen’s thematic analysis method was used for the data analysis. The findings revealed five themes associated with the reasons to study nursing among Indonesian students, namely (i) conscience to help family and others, (ii) inspiration by nurses, (iii) desire to improve the nursing image, (iv) parental and family influence, and (v) opportunities to work and study abroad. These findings help nursing educators to further understand what drives students, which can be used to improve retention strategies for upcoming and future nursing generations in Indonesia.