Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Cockrell, Essie Dee Scott
Author's Email Address	essie@lsu.edu
URN	etd-0612102-103031
Title	Prenursing Students' Perceptions of the Nursing Profession
Degree	Master of Science (M.S.)
Department	Vocational Education
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Michael F. Burnett Committee Chair John M. Larkin Committee Member Margo Abadie Committee Member Satish Verma Committee Member
Keywords	prenursing nursing profession cockrell-punter nursing perceptions scale instrume nursing
Date of Defense	2002-05-21
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The primary purpose of this study is to determine the nursing perceptions among prenursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate prenursing program. Objectives in the study included describing undergraduate baccalaureate prenursing student on selected demographic characteristics such as age, gender, ethnic background, etc., determining the perceptions of students about the nursing profession, and determining if a relationship existed between students' perceptions of nursing and selected personal characteristics such as classification, reason for choosing nursing, area of nursing practice most interested, etc. A total of 207 (66.35%) prenursing students enrolled in prerequisite courses for a baccalaureate nursing program participated in the study. Instrumentation consisted of a two-part researcher designed instrument, Cockrell-Punter Nursing Perceptions Scale Instrument. Data were obtained from students who were in a prenursing program of study and came to the prenursing advising office for counseling. The findings of the study indicated that prenursing students are unclear about their perceptions of the nursing profession, and direct experiences with the healthcare professions have an impact on students' decision making regarding nursing. The researcher concluded that most prenursing students recognize the need for career information about nursing, and the majority of students are willing to enroll in an Introduction to Nursing course even if for no academic credit. The researcher recommends that universities should consider implementing a Introduction to Nursing course, which includes a lecture and field experience component as an effective recruiting tool and for nursing programs to assist currently enrolled prenursing students to solidify their career choice. In addition, the researcher recommends that further research be done to follow the baccalaureate prenursing participants in this study through nursing school and into their early nursing career to compare prenursing students’ perceptions of nursing with their perceptions of nursing as senior nursing students and after 5 years of nursing practice.
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