Current Attitudes of Jordanian Associated Nursing and Midwifery Students towards Their Future Professions (Published)
Background and Objective: Students’ attitudes influence their future career path selection which is of a significant interest to educators and professional agencies the objective of this study is to explore the attitudes of associated nursing and midwifery students towards their professions in Al-Balqa Applied University in the Northern District Colleges. Methods: The study researchers followed the style of analytical descriptive which provides accurate results, given that the study sample was derived from the community itself. A Five-point Likert Scale was used ( Strongly agree-five points / agree-four points / do not know-three points / disagree-two points / strongly disagree-one point). The eligible questionnaires for the analysis were 232. Thus, the overall response rate was 92.8%. Results: two third (69.4%) of students were from Nusaiba college. All of them are midwifery students, whereas the lowest percentage (7.8%) of participants was from Ajloun College. The number of midwives students (176, 75, 9%), while the number of associated nursing students was (56, 24.1%). Nearly half of the participants (49.6%) were in the first year of academic level, while reached a percentage of (21.1%) for third year academic level. More than half of the participants’ (56.5%) academic achievement was good, while lowest percentage (9.0%) was for accepted. Nearly two-thirds (65.9%) have relatives in the nursing profession, while (34.1%) have no relatives in the nursing profession. Finally, (69.4%) practiced in the clinical area, while (30.6%) of participants did not practice in the clinical area. No statically significant differences for students attitudes towards the profession, students attitudes towards personal attributes and students attitudes towards the profession, but there is a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (?≤0.05) for all domains and the domain as a whole according to the clinical practice. Conclusion: The majority of Jordanian students had a positive attitude towards their professions in nursing and midwifery. Jordan Ministry of Health, university educators and nursing regulatory bodies (JNC and JNMC) should develop nursing education programs, promote nursing strategies (guidance and counseling) and provide financial stability to promote these attitudes toward these professions.
Keywords: Associated Nursing, Attitudes, Midwifery, The Nursing Profession