Nursing to care or caring to nurse: a qualitative investigation of perceptions of new recruits

This article discusses the perceptions of nine student nurses at the commencement of a 3-year diploma programme in nursing. In particular, it focuses on new recruitsʹ perceptions of nursing. As part of a larger longitudinal study which examines the impact of the nursing curriculum on perceptions of health, data were collected, from a sample of students concerning their perceptions of nursing, health, illness and the course. t analysis of indepth interviews identified four themes concerning perceptions of nursing. These were caring, nurture, healing and self-development. These themes are discussed in relation to the student nurses life experiences and in the context of a notion of health as a central goal for nurse education. The studentsʹ perceptions of nursing at the commencement of the course suggest that nursing may be a moral choice as an occupation underpinned by the desire to do something worthwhile, whilst the relationship between nursing and health was not explicit.