Evaluation of the factors affecting the vocational choices of students studying at a nursing school

Objective: This study was planned to evaluate the factors affecting the career choices of students studying at a nursing school. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th grade students between January 10 and January 21, 2022. In this descriptive study, the sample group consisted of 420 students aged 18 and over, studying at a nursing school and agreeing to participate in the research. Findings: According to the results of the research, the most effective factors for students' career choice were found as "I have always wanted to help people" and "people around me say I will be a good nurse", respectively. It was determined that 69% of the students participating in the research chose the nursing profession willingly and 37.6% of them wanted to work as a clinician nurse after graduation. Students' Nursing Career Choice Scale mean score was 59.82 ±14.00; The mean occupational fitness sub-dimension score was 70.48 ±18.22 and the vital reasons sub-dimension mean score was 40.27 ±20.11. It was determined that the mean score obtained from the occupational suitability sub-dimension of the scale was higher than the mean score obtained from the vital reasons sub-dimension. While the highest score on the scale was the item "I have always wanted to help people" (85.55±20.61) of the "Professional suitability" sub-dimension, the lowest score was "There is no other job I can do other than nursing" in the "vital reasons" sub-dimension (21.05 ±27.94) item. Conclusion: It is recommended that all aspects of nursing be explained to students and their families as a professional profession in order to help students who want to choose nursing make conscious and correct decisions. Keywords: Nursing, students, career choice, professionalism