Psychiatric nursing: An unpopular choice

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Ronelle Jansen and Idalia Venter

University of the Free State, South Africa

: Int J Ment Health Psychiatry

Abstract

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Research studies in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia suggests that students do not consider psychiatric nursing as a popular career option. According to this research, there is a widespread concern about the nursing shortages in psychiatry. The demand for psychiatric services continues to grow and there is a need for strategies to recruit nurses in this specialization. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that prevent nursing students to choose psychiatric nursing as a career. A qualitative research design that aimed to explore and describe was used. Data was collected through the nominal group technique. A sample of convenience of 27 final year nursing students from the School of Nursing from the University of the Free State as well as the Free State School of Nursing voluntarily participated in this research. This unit of analysis comprised of 4 nominal groups. The following main causal categories emerged from the content analysis of the data, presented in the order that they were prioritized: Personal factors, working environment, unprofessional behavior, learning environment and an unclassified category. The findings in this study highlighted the nursing students’ reasons for not choosing psychiatric nursing as a future career. Students’ actual descriptions were used to identify these reasons and it is therefore imperative for nursing schools in SA to address these concerns. Addressing their concerns might pave the way for them to take up psychiatric nursing as a career. Every nursing school needs to be dedicated and creative in improving their recruitment strategies to ensure adequate numbers. Otherwise, psychiatric nursing as a profession will remain in dire straits.

Biography

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Email: jansenro@ufs.ac.za