Less Than 10% of Youngsters Aged 18-24 Years Wish to Pursue a Career in Nursing

The London Clinic conducted an opinion poll on International Nurses Day that gathered views from the general public about the nursing profession. The survey revealed that only 7% of those taking part wanted to pursue a career in nursing and 15% of the respondents were suggested nursing as a career option at school. On the other hand, 64% of the 18-to-24-year-olds had never considered a nursing career.

Across the 2,000 people taking part in the online poll, 78% said they had ruled it out as a career. The reason given by 40% was that it was not their nature and 30% said it was because it seemed a very hard job.

When asked what was important to them in their choice of career, 78% of respondents stated they wanted job satisfaction, while 30% rated a large salary as important. Just 20% said working in a job that that helps someone else was important to them.

Nuala Close, Director of nursing, London Clinic’s said, “I feel we have an obligation to promote nursing and make it better understood as a profession. The role of a nurse has changed enormously over the last few decades.”

She added that the diversity of nursing roles available needed to be better promoted, as well as the room for progression.

“Whether you aspire to be a community nurse or a director of nursing at a major hospital, there are a million different roles to choose from within this profession. This is what needs to be promoted and this is what young people need to see, a profession, with potential to train, specialise and progress whilst making a difference to the lives of people in need on a daily basis,” said Ms Close.

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Source-Medindia