Journal of Advanced Nursing, 1976, i, 339-340
Editorial For many years now, researchers in the United Kingdom and throughout the world have been preoccupied with the high dropout rate ofnursing students and have conducted large numbers of investigations among thousands of nursing students in hundreds of schools of nursing. Indeed, the studies of wastage in schools ofnursing must accotint for almost as many masters degrees and doctorates as do studies ofthe poor in society. Causes ofnursing student wastage have been attributed to age of entry to nursing schools, hours of duty demanded by the nursing service, the hospital and school ofnursing environmient:, stijdy demands, social life restrictions and so on. But Jillian MacGuire (1969), after reviewing over 60 studies on the wastage ofnursing students, concluded that 'The attempt to demonstrate the relationships of each of these things separately to withdrawal has not been partictilarly successful'. It cotnes as no surprise to anyone who peruses the literature that nursing students waste. What perhaps is a little surprising is that anyone stays and indeed completes their programtne ofnursing education. Yet, ironically enough, we still know very httle about those nursing students who do not waste and who continue to complete their basic programmes and pursue successftil careers in nursing. But there is an even greater irony in the United Kingdom which has recently surfaced. In the past year the dropout rate of nursing students has dropped dramatically. For many years a wastage rate of over 30% was considered the nortn. It has now dropped to less than 15%. By some strange coincidence this dramatic decrease in the dropout rate is occurring at the same time as a high level of tinemploytnent generally which seems to suggest that a crucial factor that researchers have failed to bear in mind when considering wastage ofnursing students is whether or not altemative employment is readily available in the open market. This is perhaps not as surprising as it sounds for nursing students undoubtedly have the potential to function adequately in a ntunber of careers. This is easily demonstrated when the career opporttinities for the quahfied nurse are considered. The diversity of roles available is tremendous and, one suspects, the appropriate orientation for each role is equally diverse. Trained nurses ftinction as clinicians, teachers, administrators, researchers, scholars—and joumahsts. The problem of clarifying the role ofthe nurse, clearly associated with the ambigtiity of needs and goals in nursing, is fraught with difficulty as Margaret Scott Wright (1973) has observed. 'The plain and awkward truth', she contends, 'is that almost nothing is known about it in a profession that has had neither the opportunity nor the inclination to pursue it scientifically...' She further contends that the macroscopic goal of good nursing care must 'be broken down into meaningful small objectives which have some relevance to the work of groups of nurses and midwives in 339
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difFerent care categories of the profession.' Members of the nursing profession must therefore search for and accept the uniqueness of a number of nursing roles which will vary according to the virdque situation in which each nurse functions. Perhaps the common core attribute of all these roles in nursing is the attribute of professionalism. But in the nursing profession we tend to be preoccupied with debating about the role ofthe nurse and the profession of nursing. There tends to be very little, if any, discussion about the concept of professionalism. I wonder why? References MACGUIRE J. M. (1969) Threshold to Nursing. Bell, London. SCOTT WRIGHT M . (1973) Needs and goals in nursing. District Nursing 15, 10, 214-17.
James P. Smith
Editorial For many years now, researchers in the United Kingdom and throughout the world have been preoccupied with the high dropout rate ofnursing students and have conducted large numbers of investigations among thousands of nursing students in hundreds of schools of nursing. Indeed, the studies of wastage in schools ofnursing must accotint for almost as many masters degrees and doctorates as do studies ofthe poor in society. Causes ofnursing student wastage have been attributed to age of entry to nursing schools, hours of duty demanded by the nursing service, the hospital and school ofnursing environmient:, stijdy demands, social life restrictions and so on. But Jillian MacGuire (1969), after reviewing over 60 studies on the wastage ofnursing students, concluded that 'The attempt to demonstrate the relationships of each of these things separately to withdrawal has not been partictilarly successful'. It cotnes as no surprise to anyone who peruses the literature that nursing students waste. What perhaps is a little surprising is that anyone stays and indeed completes their programtne ofnursing education. Yet, ironically enough, we still know very httle about those nursing students who do not waste and who continue to complete their basic programmes and pursue successftil careers in nursing. But there is an even greater irony in the United Kingdom which has recently surfaced. In the past year the dropout rate of nursing students has dropped dramatically. For many years a wastage rate of over 30% was considered the nortn. It has now dropped to less than 15%. By some strange coincidence this dramatic decrease in the dropout rate is occurring at the same time as a high level of tinemploytnent generally which seems to suggest that a crucial factor that researchers have failed to bear in mind when considering wastage ofnursing students is whether or not altemative employment is readily available in the open market. This is perhaps not as surprising as it sounds for nursing students undoubtedly have the potential to function adequately in a ntunber of careers. This is easily demonstrated when the career opporttinities for the quahfied nurse are considered. The diversity of roles available is tremendous and, one suspects, the appropriate orientation for each role is equally diverse. Trained nurses ftinction as clinicians, teachers, administrators, researchers, scholars—and joumahsts. The problem of clarifying the role ofthe nurse, clearly associated with the ambigtiity of needs and goals in nursing, is fraught with difficulty as Margaret Scott Wright (1973) has observed. 'The plain and awkward truth', she contends, 'is that almost nothing is known about it in a profession that has had neither the opportunity nor the inclination to pursue it scientifically...' She further contends that the macroscopic goal of good nursing care must 'be broken down into meaningful small objectives which have some relevance to the work of groups of nurses and midwives in 339
340
Editorial
difFerent care categories of the profession.' Members of the nursing profession must therefore search for and accept the uniqueness of a number of nursing roles which will vary according to the virdque situation in which each nurse functions. Perhaps the common core attribute of all these roles in nursing is the attribute of professionalism. But in the nursing profession we tend to be preoccupied with debating about the role ofthe nurse and the profession of nursing. There tends to be very little, if any, discussion about the concept of professionalism. I wonder why? References MACGUIRE J. M. (1969) Threshold to Nursing. Bell, London. SCOTT WRIGHT M . (1973) Needs and goals in nursing. District Nursing 15, 10, 214-17.
James P. Smith
