The reasons affecting the choice of profession of Turkish nursing students

This research was conducted in cross-sectional type in order to determine the reasons affecting the choice of profession of Turkish nursing students. The research was conducted between January 15 and March 10, 2020. The population of the study consisted of university nursing students in seven regions, and the sample consisted of 2774 students who agreed to participate in the study. Introductory Information Form and Nursing Profession Selection Scale (HMSÖ) prepared by the researchers were used to collect the data. The data were evaluated using the mean, percentile, ANOVA, Mann Whitney U independent groups t-test in the IBM SPSS 21.0 package program. The total HMSS score of the students participating in the study was determined as 101.4 ± 24.8. 80.4% of the students constitute the female group. It was determined that 65.2% of the students preferred the nursing profession voluntarily, 67.9% of them have their first five choices, 56.8% of them gained a positive perspective after starting education, and it was determined that the vast majority (83.3%) did not want to change their department. Between differences of two sub-dimensions of the Nursing Career Choice Scale, "Vocational Qualification" and "Vital Reasons", and descriptive factors was found significant (p<0.05). When the distribution of the answers of HMSÖ questions given by the students' was evaluated, it was determined that the first item chosen at the highest rate was "I have always wanted to help people", and the item chosen at the lowest rate was the statement "Nursing makes a lot of money". It has been determined that the choice of profession differs according to the regions, and the students choose the nursing profession for their willingness to help and job opportunities. It was determined that the students made a conscious choice and adopted the nursing profession, by means of the high average score they got from the Vocational Qualification dimension. Keywords: Choosing a profession, student nurse, nursing