Ayala Gonen
Ruppin Academic Center, Israel
Title: The impact of self-efficacy on the perception of the nursing profession among High School students in Israel
Biography
Biography: Ayala Gonen
Abstract
Background: These days, when life expectancy rises, together with the tremendous advanced in technology, it is very important to study the factors leading students to choose or avoid the nursing profession. This issue is especially important for the future of the nursing profession, when there is a critical need to increase the number of nurses.
The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of self - efficacy on the perception of the nursing profession among high school students in Israel. Therefore, the research hypotheses are referring to differences in nursing perceptions concerning the variables: Students' level of self-efficacy; Sector (Jews vs. Muslims); Gender, and family affiliation with nursing practitioners. The theoretical background of the study was the theory of Ajzen' theory of planned behavior (1991).
The research method was a quantitative research, with the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire examined the perception of nursing profession among 149 high school students, from the Jewish and Arab sectors in Israel. The questionnaire included various aspects of the profession's perception like perception of image. Anonymous of the respondents was kept and two scales were used: Perception of the nursing profession, and self-efficacy. Out of 200 questionnaires distributed, 149 were fully answered (74.5%).
Results: High school students with high levels of self-efficacy were found to have low perceptions of the nursing profession, compared to students with low self-efficacy who were found to have high perceptions of the nursing profession. (R= -0.218, sig<0.05) .There were no differences between the perception of the nursing profession the two sectors and in the gender of the student.
Discussion: Self-efficacy has effect on the profession choice, and in fact, a low sense of self-efficacy causes second thoughts about the individual's self-ability and causes the individual to develop lower and less committed aspirations . In addition, when young students have low perceptions of the profession, they perceive it as low-status and with low intellectual requirements. Therefore, students who perceive the nursing profession as low-status have been found to have low self-efficacy and prefer to choose a profession of this type.
In summary: The low perception of the nature of the nursing profession proves that there is an urgent need to improve the profession's image and to promote its concept as a challenging and worthy profession. Awareness needs to be raised about the skills required for the profession like empowering the level of self-efficacy and building new paths for career development in nursing.