Bahraini nursing students’ attitudes: from student to nurse-A longitudinal research study

Abstract

Nursing manpower in the Middle East is highly dependent on expatriates and this presents a challenge in establishing and sustaining indigenous nursing developments. Understanding the perceptions of local nursing students and nurses joining the profession is essential to successful strategies for recruitment and retention of nurses. In contrast to the west, very little is known about this topic in the Middle East. This article aims to identify the perceptions of a Bahraini cohort of nursing students about nursing as a career choice and how these perceptions may change during the course of a programme of nursing education and one year after graduation as a nurse. A longitudinal research design was employed to study the perceptions of the first intake of nursing students enrolled into a new School of Nursing & Midwifery providing a BSc Nursing Programme; data were collected between 2006 and 2012. A methodological triangulation research approach was used incorporating quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The data collection methods included written reflections, self-administered questionnaires and focus groups. Bahraini nursing students expressed positive perceptions about nursing from their graduate programme years and through the staff nurse year. Observations made about the public image of nursing in Bahrain suggest that nursing is perceived as a low paying, low status job involving excessive hard and unpleasant work. The public perceptions of Bahraini people about nursing may be grounded in strong cultural influences. Any efforts to improve the enrollment and retention of Bahraini nurses should consider enhancing the social values of the nursing profession.

Strategies to address the nursing shortage in Saudi Arabia

“…The problems faced by Saudi Arabia in terms of seeking to alter the balance between local and expatriate nurses have regional and international significance. Regionally, the process could be described as ‘Arabization’ of the nursing workforce as described, for example, in Bahrain by Tawash & Cowman (), but similar developments can be seen, for instance, in Qatar. The region is a significant employer of expatriate nurses, and any change in policy towards their employment is likely to have international consequences.…”

Changes in attitudes of full-time and part-time nursing students in Croatia on nursing during their education

“…Further research to determine the reasons for these changeswhether they are related to an increase in knowledge, and professionalization, or down to working conditionsmay be beneficial. At the end of the course, respondents gave lower scores for the satisfaction of nurses with the work they do, while in the studies of Tawash and Cowman (2015), Bolan and Grainger (2009), and Grainger and Bolan (2006), most respondents were satisfied with the work they did.…”

The NURSING‐Positive Recruitment Arabic Model (NURS‐P.R.A.M.): A mixed methods study

“…There is growing evidence of the impact of low nursing staffing levels on the quality of patient care. Thus, sustaining a nursing workforce is fundamental to health care systems and the quality of patient care, however this depends largely on the ability to recruit more nurses (Tawash & Cowman, ). To secure high quality entrants to nursing, an understanding of the factors influencing HSS decisions to join the profession, is of critical importance and may be used to inform future recruitment and retention strategies (Price, ).…”

“…New efforts to recruit student nurses locally, will achieve a long‐term objective to lessen the dependence on expatriate nurses (Tawash et al., ). Any new recruitment initiatives, in trying to attract local candidates to study nursing, must address the public image of nursing and strong cultural influences (Tawash & Cowman, ).…”