Nursing students’concerns towards nursing, in the south-west of Iran during 2022–2023: A cross-sectional study

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3238530/v1

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Research Article

Nursing students’concerns towards nursing, in the south-west of Iran during 2022–2023: A cross-sectional study

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3238530/v1

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Background

Selecting a career is the young people's main concern and is considered as one of the most important decisions that a person will make his/her in their lifetime. This study aimed at determining concerns among undergraduate nursing students regarding nursing.

Methods

300 participants were enrolled in the study. This study was descriptive-analytical cross-sectional. The research population consisted of 400 male and female undergraduate nursing students in Nursing and Midwifery Faculty. A researcher-made questionnaire that assessed the nursing students’ concerns towards the nursing profession with three sub-dimensions such as personal concerns(12 items), interpersonal concerns(3 items, social concerns(5 items) was used. After completion of the validation and reliability, the scale was reduced to 19 items. Using a 5-point Likert scale, we evaluated all responses to the second part of the questionnaire from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Results

The majority of the students (55.7%) were female, (age range 18–35); 86.9% of them were single, 44.3% of them were males, (age range 18–29). It was revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between some items. However, there was statistically significant difference between some other items.

Conclusion

It was determined that the majority of the participants chose nursing for the purpose of easily securing a job, that the participants held a negative perception of the profession and had a dream profession other than that of nursing. The majority of participants were concerned regarding the fact that they chose the nursing field in the university entrance exam and were studying in the nursing field. The society doesn’t respect the obtained clinical scientific capabilities of nurses and does not pay attention to the spiritual and humanitarian aspects of this field.

nursing students

concerns

nursing

Selecting a career is the young people's main concern and is considered as one of the most important decisions that an individual will make his/her in their lifetime. This decision results in choosing a career, from among different opportunities, that comply with a person’s needs and expectations [1, 2]. Selecting a career is a sophisticated approach that is affected by many variables that are different in various countries and cultures. Furthermore, environmental, political, economic, legal and organizational factors; fluke standards; social values; and attitudes affect one’s selection of career [3]. The nursing profession has diverse cultural objections, indicating negative attitudes that have dissuaded the individuals from joining this field. Several nursing students may receive their degree with an outlook that impedes them from achieving their work as expected; this is a universal concern, not just a problem in one country [4]. In Iran, the students, who get higher scores in high school; are not interested in entering the nursing field. Such students prefer other fields such as medicine. An important factor in the nursing employment issue is the poor image of nursing. The image of nursing is the key factors influencing the nursing profession in its 100-150-year history in the world, influencing the nurses’ work performance, their intention to leave the job, and nurses’ status, strength, and skills in enhancing healthcare in the world. Therefore, the image of nursing has always been of great importance and concern. Corresponding to the literature, nursing students’ perceptions of the image of nursing are affected by the perspective of society towards the profession [5].

The social position of a job determines the position of the job dignity. Harming the social position of a job from society’s viewpoint leads to stress, doubt, and incertitude [6]. It is considered that the public image of a job in the society is strongly related to the financial reward, job opportunities, and security of the people doing it, along with as the nature of the job itself [7]. Many Iranian nurses suffer from a poor social image and low social status, which leads to feeling of frustration, general dissatisfaction, disappointment, and confusion about their self-image and social identity. According to Varai et al. (2011), in Iran’s health care system, the general public often has a negative stereotypical image regarding nursing, nurses, and the role they play. This negative stereotypical image creates the perception in nurses that their work is not admired or acclaimed. In another qualitative study, Valizadeh et al. (2014) found that the general public, consider nursing as a female occupation, under the orders of a physician, and not recognized in Iran [8]. Studies consider many negative social perceptions of nursing about gender stereotypes such as following (male) physicians, low academic standards, and limited job opportunities [9]. Considering the reasons why high school students do not choose nursing as their career choice when deciding on their career, researchers have shown that the majority of them do not like to work in the health sector, where the working conditions are difficult, they are powerless, and most of them suffer lack independence. Recent studies show that there are still myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes that damage the image of nursing [10]. The social barriers that prevent men from entering or staying in the field of nursing are the traditional images of the nurse as an angel, a sex symbol, a physician’s maid, and especially a woman. The learning experience of male nursing students, both in the classroom and in the clinical practice environment, as well as their experience of interacting with others, affects their perception of the nursing profession and their decision to stay or leave nursing. All nurses experience some degrees of embarrassment in their daily social life, although, for the most part, they manage not to be too bothered by it. Sometimes, male students face obstacles in their educational environment as well as in their clinical practice. For example, male nursing students describe feeling embarrassed when they are mistakenly regarded as a physician. They describe some patients and/or their families tending to see all men in white coats as a physician and women as a nurse [11]. There are reports that many job seekers consider nursing to be a poor career choice for reasons such as the lack of prestige and defined career ladders very low financial rewards, and the poor image of the nursing role. Therefore, the general stereotypical image of nursing is one of the main concerns of nurses. The findings of a qualitative study conducted by Thompson et al. (2011) also indicate that people claim to respect nursing, but do not suggest nursing as a career opportunity for themselves, their children, or their students [7].

The poor social dignity of nurses is one of the Iranian nurses’ challenges. Since Iranian people have a poor image of nursing, those who choose nursing as a profession experience a low level of self-esteem, which causes most nursing graduates to look for employment opportunities other than working at the patient’s bedside [12]. Therefore, the stereotypical image of nursing in the society is a major concern for nurses. Although several studies have been conducted on the image of nursing in the society globally, there is not enough research on the stressful social factors and concerns of nursing students. This study aimed at determining concerns among undergraduate nursing students regarding nursing.

Study design

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the concerns of nursing students regarding nursing and from October 2022 to December 2022. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the concerns and stressors of undergraduate nursing students regarding nursing.

Participants

The research population consisted of 400 male and female undergraduate nursing students in Nursing and Midwifery Faculty. Through availability sampling, 300 participants who were studying nursing from the first year to the fourth year were enrolled in the study and returned the questionnaires. Participants who were willing to cooperate in the research, completed the questionnaire and consent form to participate in the research included, and those who were not willing to cooperate, and didn't return the questionnaire to the researcher were excluded.

Instruments and measures

A researcher-made questionnaire contained three parts; the first part was demographic profile of the students (8 items) and included forced-choice answers aiming to determine the subjects' basic status (age, gender, academic term, their parents’ education level and occupation, monthly family income status and living place). The second part was a scale that assessed the nursing students’ concerns towards the nursing profession. This part (20 items) had three sub-dimensions such as personal concerns(12 items), interpersonal concerns(3 items), social concerns(5 items), representing the position of the nursing profession within the society which were defined and determined based on a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies. Using a 5-point Likert scale, we evaluated all responses to the second part of the questionnaire from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). After determining the content of the questionnaire, in order to develop the psychometrics of the questionnaire, at first we gave the questionnaire to 15 experts to give their opinions about its content (or form) validity, then, the content validity of the questionnaire was determined by the Content Validity Index (CVI) method using the Waltz and Basel index, with three characteristics of simplicity, relevance, and clarity (0.81). The reliability of the questionnaire also was determined using a pilot study of 30 nursing students, and the internal consistency of the statements were determined and confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha factor(0.90) using SPSS version 23.0 software. After fulfilment of the validation and reliability analyses, the scale was decreased to 19 items. In order to collect the data, after obtaining the code of ethics from the university ethics committee, and completing the written and informed consent form by all study participant, we distributed the aforementioned questionnaire among the students to complete. All data were kept confidential as no name was written on the questionnaire. The data collecting instruments were disseminated among the participants in a classroom environment before the beginning of classes and collected after they were completely filled out.

Data analysis

After gathering the data, we analyzed of the numerical data using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) along with inferential statistics (two-sided Chi-square test) using SPSS software version 23.0 and the statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

In this study, 300 undergraduate nursing students participated; the majority of the students (55.7%) were female, and their mean age was 21.43±2.7 years (age range 18–35); 86.9% of them were single, 90.7% were in the high school experimental field, 9.3% were in high school mathematical field; 44.3% of them were males, with a mean age of 21.4±2.1 years (age range 18–29); 90.3% single, 93.7% of them were in the high school experimental field, and 6.3% were in the high school mathematical field. It is indicated that most of the students in the research had parents with low education level, 47% with middle socioeconomic status. 9% of the subjects were from urban areas. 6% of the students had transferred from other subject majors to a nursing major. The rest of the demographic information is listed in Table 1. No correlations were found between the nursing students’ concerns towards nursing and their demographic characteristics. Further, it was revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the items such as "In spite of being a top student and studying a lot, I had to choose a field in the university entrance exam that was not acceptable for my efforts and the results of my efforts; In spite of having interest in continuing my education in one of the fields of medicine and health, I was not accepted in the field of my interest; If I was in a other conditions, I would have tried to be accepted in another field; If I was in a better financial and familial conditions, I would have migrated abroad to continue studying in another field; the social acceptability of my work is less than a physician; In spite of having more ability, I am looked upon as an assistant to a physician; In comparison to medicine, nursing is viewed differently by the society", both genders considered agreement or strong agreement about these items. (P-value > 0.05). However, there was statistically significant difference between the items such as "Sometimes I think, in spite of my lack of interest, I was forced to enroll in nursing in the end; Due to the working conditions and low salary, I have to leave the nursing profession in the future or endure financial and life problems; I feel embarrassed when people or patients think I am a physician; and I feel embarrassed when I tell people that I study nursing", both genders considered disagreement or strongly disagreement about the last 3 items. (P-value < 0.05), (Table 2).

Table 1

Percent distribution of Participant's background information
Parent's job and education level	Percent
Fathers' Education level	29% Diploma, 22.2% Bachelor
Mothers' Education level	28.1%Under diploma, 38%Diploma
Fathers' Job	40% Clerk
Mothers' Job	73% Housewife

Table 2

Nursing students' scores about nursing
Concerns	Items	Girls agreement		Boys agreement		Chi-square	P-Value
		Strongly agree	agree	Strongly agree	agree
Personal	In spite of being a top student and studying a lot, I had to choose a field in the university entrance exam that is not acceptable for my efforts and the results of my efforts.	44% ٭S. agree 18% agree		35% S. agree 20%agree		1.7	P-V > 0.05
	In spite of having interest in continuing my education in one of the fields of medicine and health, I was not accepted in the field of my interest.	30% S. agree 22% agree		28% S. agree 20% agree		2.8	P-V > 0.05
	Sometimes I think, in spite of my lack of interest, I was forced to enroll in nursing in the end.	29% S. agree 18% agree		28% S. agree 28% agree		12.14	P-V < 0.05
	If I had other conditions, I would have tried to be accepted in another field.	28%% S. agree 18% agree		28%% S. agree 28% agree		3.97	P-V > 0.05
	If I had better conditions (financial and family), I would have migrated abroad to continue studying in another field.	37% S. agree 22% agree		37% S. agree 15% agree		2.1	P-V > 0.05
	Due to the working conditions and low salary, I have to leave the nursing profession in the future or endure financial and life problems.	24%S.disagree 18% disagree		8% S. disagree 19% disagree		11.6	P-V < 0.05
Interpersonal	I feel embarrassed when people or patients think I am a physician.	53% S. disagree 17% disagree		30% S. disagree 24% disagree		12.52	P-V < 0.05
	I feel embarrassed when I tell people that I study nursing.	50% S. disagree 21%disagree		29% S. disagree 24% disagree		13.6	P-V < 0.05
Social	In Comparison to medicine, nursing is viewed differently by society.	59% S. agree 20% agree		44% S. agree 34% agree		5.76	P-V > 0.05
	In spite of having more ability, I am looked upon as an assistant to the physician.	32% S. agree 26% agree		23% S. agree 36% agree		4.1	P-V > 0.05
	The social acceptability of my work is less than a physician.	44% S. agree 29% agree		37% S. agree 28% agree		3.3	P-V > 0.05
٭Strongly

This study aimed to determine the nursing students’ concerns toward their career and was conducted in an analytical cross-sectional design with 300 nursing students. It was indicated that most of the participants in the research had parents with low education levels, had parents who were at middle socioeconomic status. In several other studies it was also revealed that the students who chose the profession of nursing had parents with low education levels, with parents who were at middle socioeconomic positions [13].

●Personal concerns

As the results indicated, one of the students’ concerns was "in spite of being a top student and studying a lot, in the university entrance exam, I had to choose a field that is not acceptable and accepting the results of my efforts"; more than half of the study participants (62% of girls and 55% of boys) agreed or strongly agreed, despite the fact that these students were top students in the high school and studied a lot to pass the university entrance exam. According to the score in the university entrance exam, they were compelled to choose a field that was close to passing and the acceptance of their effort and the result of their efforts was not accepted. Acceptance in this field has not fulfilled their need to continue their studies. There was no statistically significant difference between the opinions of both sexes in this item. It sounds that that students chose nursing profession not because they are keen in or have propensity towards it, but because in this profession there is a perfect chance of recruitment. The profession of nursing which is needed by the society and the chance of taking up recruitment easily in our country are the factors which certainly affect the choice of the students.

Another item that participants were concerned about was "in spite of having an interest in continuing their education in the field of medicine and health, they have not been accepted in the field of their interest". Approximately half of the participants (52% of girls and 48% of boys) agreed or strongly agreed with this concern. There was no statistically significant difference between the agreement of the two sexes. Nearly 50% of the boys and girls agreed that they tried to get accepted in a better field of medical sciences except nursing, but they were not accepted in their favorite field. This data indicates that their expectation has been accepting in a higher field and different from their current acceptance field.

In Turkey, it was determined that nursing students choose the profession inadvertently and do not have sufficient knowledge about nursing [14]. Balyac et al. (2011) stated that nursing profession was not generally chosen in a consenting way; usually it is chosen to get a job easier [15]. Findings of the study conducted by Dala et al. (2009) also stated although in their research almost all the students indicated that they were happy studying in nursing field, half of them explicitly stated that they prefer to continue this studies in a different field. In the associated literature there are studies intensifying the fact that the nursing students are not happy with the school condition. These findings of our research could clarify the point that although the students are happy with their studies they experience difficulty in accepting the profession of nursing [13].

Regarding the concern, "sometimes, I think that I had to enroll in nursing in the end, despite my lack of interest", almost half of the participants (47% of girls and 58% of boys) that there were more boys than girls, and a statistically significant difference was also observed between their opinions. It seems that the ratio of the number of boys versus the number of girls is significantly higher they agreed or strongly agreed that sometimes they think that, despite their lack of interest in the field of nursing, they were forced to enroll in this field in the end. It seems that it is especially true in boys, the field of nursing was not favorable in their opinion.

Regarding the concern, "if they had other conditions, they would have tried to be accepted in another field", almost half of the participants (46% of girls and 56% of boys) agreed or strongly agreed with this issue, and there was no statistically significant difference between the ratio of the two groups of girls and boys. It seems that perhaps they did not like to continue their studies in this field, and they are looking for better conditions in order to try to accept and continue their studies. Studies have determined that nursing profession is not generally selected deliberately; it is chosen only to get a job because it is easy to find a job or because it is considered as the most suitable job for a female sex in society [15].

Regarding the statement if the participants had better conditions (financial and family), they would migrate abroad to continue their studies in another field, more than half of the participants (59% of girls and 52% of boys), especially girls, agreed or strongly agreed with this issue, and there was no statistical significant difference between the ratio of the two groups of girls and boys in this statement. It seems that passing and continuing education in the accepted field is not satisfactory for them. Perhaps, if due to issues and problems, nursing students cannot change their field or study in another field in their country, they will be forced to migrate to countries that provide better opportunities for them to change their field and study in another field.

42% of girls and 27% of boys, disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "due to the job conditions and low salaries, we have to leave the nursing profession in the future or endure financial and life problems". There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups of girls and boys. It seems that nursing students, especially girls in comparison to boys, are willing to continue their studies in this field and work with the same legal status, despite having a problem with working conditions and receiving lower salary. They accept the current educational and occupational status due to the existence of other occupational problems and presently are forced to accept this educational and occupational status and continue their studies.

One of the major causes of nursing scarcity in Iran is the reluctance and lack of eagerness to enter and stay in nursing or inclination to leave the job. It seems that its low wage and benefits and low social level are influential factors participate to this concern[16].

●Interpersonal concerns

The majority of the nursing students (70% of girls and 54% of boys), especially girls, disagreed or strongly disagreed that they felt embarrassed when common people or patients thought they were physician, and there was a statistically significant difference between the proportion of their disagreement in this finding. This finding indicates that girls felt less embarrassed than boys in this regard and that patients thought they were not physician, and they were not upset that others felt they were nurses. Probably, boys feel more embarrassed in this regard.

This result is inconsistent with the findings of Mervat et al.(2018) that state 59.7% of female students were arrogant when talking about nursing profession while 64.9% of male students felt arrogant. Furthermore, 7.8% and 18.9% of female and male students respectively felt shy when they spoke about nursing profession. 18.2% of female students and 8.1% of male students alter the topic. 14.3% of female students and only 5.4% of male students resisted against nursing profession and only 1% male students assailed the nursing profession. The majority (61.4%) of both female and male students felt arrogant when speaking about nursing. However, 14.9% of them changed topic. Additionally, 11.4% of them felt bashful and resisted against nursing. The difference between male and female students was not significant statistically (P = 0.080) [17].

The analysis found that most of the nursing students (71% of girls and 53% of boys) also disagreed or strongly disagreed that they felt embarrassed when they told people in daily communication that they were studying nursing, and there was a statistically significant difference between the girls and boys' viewpoints in this regard. This finding shows that girls in comparison to boys do not feel embarrassed to express to common people that they are nurses, but not physician, in this issue. It may be difficult for boys to accept that they are nurses because of the lesser respect given to them. Elibol et al. (2017) mentioned that the idea of image, which is the second subject discussed in their study, was the total perception and sense a person, a group or an organization offers to other individuals and organizations, whether deliberately or not. The image of the nursing profession has been, from the beginning of it as a profession until today, a topic that both members of the profession and relevant agencies have abided on [2].

●Stereotype social concerns

The results of the study revealed that the majority of the nursing students (79% of girls and 78% of boys) agreed or strongly agreed that a nurse in comparison to a physician, is viewed differently by society. There was no significant difference between the two groups of girls and boys in this finding. It seems that in comparison to the medical field, low attention has been paid to the nurses and the nursing field and the nurses are not respected as much as they deserve, and in the view of the society, the nursing field appears to be less important than the medical field.

Negative public image is substantial for considering the nursing career as well as for encouraging the nurses to stay in the nursing profession [18]. It is stated that the society’s view of the nursing profession influences the nurses’ perception regarding their profession, career selection, self-esteem, job satisfaction and job performance [14]. Findings of the study carried out by of Roshangar et al., (2021) suggest that the public image of the nursing profession in Iran still does not admire the nurses’ work and education which offers poor spirit and self-image and resentment, despair, reduced job gratification and retainment. It has increasingly been identified in Iran that the media participate in the negative image that society keeps about nursing. Iranian nurses are often not shown as beneficial or proficient in the media, and the media fails to offer nurses as scientific and knowledgeable members of a therapeutic team. Particularly, in spite of many changes, nursing is still attempting to be accepted and acknowledged as a profession by the public [8].

This finding was in the same line with those of the study conducted by Allari, (2020), stating that Attracting students to nursing career is an important step to increase the number of nurses, but unfortunately the public perception to nursing profession as well as student’s perception is actually narrow. Nursing was positioned as best second choice to medicine, medical drama in television view the nurse as less skilled and less knowledgeable than physician [19].

Furthermore, it was found that most of the students (58% of girls and 59% of boys) agreed or strongly agreed that despite having more ability than whatever society imagines, the graduates of nursing field are looked upon as a person who helps the physician. No significant difference was observed between the two groups of girls and boys in this regard. The results show that both sexes agree on this matter. Since the nursing is not an independent job and has a direct relationship with the medical team, and it should be carried out alongside the physician, sometimes at the same time of the physician’s activity, carrying out the physician’s orders for the patient, the nurse’s activity is not seen by the people of the society and the result of the work ends up in the name of the physician.

Nurses were considered as being less qualified, possessing limited intuition, and only took doctors’ orders. These stereotypes were caused by their increased assigned work due to the confined number of nurses, thus influening the quality of nursing care[20]. It is expected that the global image of the nursing profession is negative. Previous studies illustrate that nursing is perceive as a less worthwhile profession because of difficult working conditions, inadequate financial compensation, low level of autonomy, limited career opportunities, and being viewed as auxiliary members of the healthcare team [18]. This finding in line with those of Racic et al. (2009), showing that most of the study participants reported that the public image of nurses was in contrast with the nurses’ own image. Several participants believed that the professional knowledge and proficiency in the scene of patient care have been underestimated by the general public and policy makers in BiH. Parallel to their opinion, nurses are unfairly describe as the assistants of physicians and therefore not seen by society as independent health care workers with good core values and competence. It was taken into consideration, by the participants that the health care system of BiH does not endow professional autonomy for nurses. The physician’s effect on the realm of nursing practice was found to be very strong. Nurses also admitted lack of autonomy and how it confined them to exercise knowledge and skills learned through their baccalaureate education [21]. previous studies on this subject indicate that nurses have always been powerfully aware of their subservience to the medical profession and are still experiencing high levels of dissatisfaction with their professional status [22].

Our findings revealed that the majority of participants (73% of girls and 65% of boys) agreed or strongly agreed that the social acceptability of their work is less than a physician's work. This finding depicted female nursing students had more concern than male nursing students in this issue. There was no statistically significant difference between the ratio of two groups of girls and boys in this statement. Perhaps the social acceptability of medicine and nursing is related to the career history and culture of the people in our society. In our society, due to having income and specialized capabilities, the medical profession in comparison to nursing has more value and importance. The result of this study revealed that those female nursing students had more concern than male .

The study findings demonstrated that almost more than half of the nurses was concerned towards nursing careers. Overall, it has been established that a lot of the participants selected nursing for the purpose of easily ensuring a job, that the participants held a negative understanding of the profession and had a dream profession other than that of nursing. The majority of participants were concerned regarding the fact that they chose the nursing field in the university entrance exam and were studying in the nursing field. If the opportunities are provided for them, they may change their field of nursing to another field during their studies or after graduation, or might even go abroad to change and continue their studies in another field. If they cannot go abroad due to some reasons, they hardly tolerate the job problems and concerns. Boys were more concerned than girls. Despite having concerns regarding the problems, girls tolerated the status of the nursing field. Maybe if girls could not become a physician, because of the restrictions or being a woman, which the field of nursing is a more established profession for this group, they accept being a nurse. Participants were concerned about the society’s views regarding the nurses and nursing. The society doesn’t respect the obtained clinical scientific capabilities of nurses and does not pay attention to the spiritual and humanitarian aspects of this field. It looks at the appearance of some activities that sometimes are expected from all levels of nursing. Because the educated nurses’ duties and those of others aren't divided well while caring for patients, all nurses (nursing assistants and graduated nurses) are viewed at the same way. Since sometimes there is n’t any differences and distinctions in nursing care activities between all undergraduate and graduate nurses, society and hospitalized patients who are part of the society, look at all nurses from the same point of view, that is, from lower rank. Since patients do not distinguish different levels of education or graduate education ranks of nurses, from their point of view, all nurses are the same, and they expect all nurses to do the same. It seems that the society’s view should be changed towards this group so that the concerns of this educated group, if not completely resolved, are at least reduced.

This study was conducted in one of the capital cities of Iran, so generalizability of the study is limited to similar settings. The convenient sampling technique, and the unbalanced gender representation should be added to the study limitations.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to those who collaborated with the researcher. This study was performed with the financial support of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

Author’s contributions

Ghazanfar Rafiee: Conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; investigation; methodology;

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Availability of data and materials

Data are available on reasonable request to the authors.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All procedures performed in this study for gathering data were in accordance with the University of Medical Sciences Research Ethics committee with the code of IRSUMS.REC 1401.656 and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The subjects in the research study completed informed consent form to participate in the research and complete questionnaires without coercion. Furthermore, they were offered the right to refuse to participate or withdraw at any time without explanation, consequences, or coercion. If the participants were not willing to complete the questionnaire, they weren't threatened and it did not affect their grades. The questionnaires were anonymous while being completed and the participants were not identified to protect their identity. The confidentiality and privacy of the subjects were also assured during and after data collection.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Nursing students’concerns towards nursing, in the south-west of Iran during 2022–2023: A cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Introduction

Background

Methods

Study design

Participants

Instruments and measures

Data analysis

Results

Discussion

●Personal concerns

●Interpersonal concerns

●Stereotype social concerns

Conclusion

Limitations

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

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