Abstract
High attrition rates in new graduate nurses maybe attributed to unrealistic perceptions of being a nurse. It is therefore important to identify nursing students' perceptions and the factors that influence them. The present study was conducted to identify and describe the literature relating to nursing students' perceptions of being a nurse. Research questions guiding the review were: (1) What are nursing students' perceptions of nursing? (2) What factors influence nursing students' perceptions of nursing? A scoping literature review was conducted between the years 2008 and March 2022 to capture nursing student perceptions from multiple countries, and year levels of study to note the changes in perceptions overtime. The data sources consisted of five electronic data bases; CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science and search engine Google Scholar revealed 39 relevant sources. A scoping review methodology informed by the Joanna Briggs Institute and a published Scoping Review Checklist guided this review. An inductive thematic analysis identified five key themes. Key themes: Attributes and characteristics of nurses; Nursing as a profession; Skills required for nursing; Gender perceptions; and Influence of time and previous health work experience. Findings provide insight for future research to ensure the adequacy of curricula experiences in preparing new graduates for having realistic perceptions for practice. For nursing students to be prepared for the role of a nurse they must have realistic perceptions of what it means to be a nurse. Whilst it is evident that perceptions can be influenced by a variety of sources, this review highlights a lack of research pertaining to perceptions related to the physical, emotional, and social effects on an individual from being a nurse.
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