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 recruits' 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. Content 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 students' 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.