Perception on nursing profession and career plans among nursing students in nursing institutions of sikkim

Background: Nursing is a health care profession, which focuses on the care of individual, families and communities. The profession which was once an epitome of dedication and devotion, the association with which was considered respectable, is now a remote reality. There is a paradigm shift in the perception regarding the profession. Graduates may perceive nursing as a noble profession but may not consider it rewarding. Understanding the students perception on nursing profession at the beginning and at the end of the programme is very interesting. Objectives : to assess the Perception on Nursing Profession among the first year and final year nursing students, to compare their perception on Nursing profession and to assess their Career Plans after graduation. Methods: Descriptive survey design and a Non-probability convenient sampling technique for data collection was used. After obtaining informed consent from each of the participants, Personal profile were collected using a Structured Questionnaire, a 4 point Likert Scale was used to assess Perception on Nursing Profession and Semi Structured Questionnaire was used for assessing the Career Plans among 177 B.Sc. nursing students in selected nursing institutions of Sikkim. Results: The findings of the study revealed that 100% of the first year and 99% final year B.Sc. Nursing students had a positive perception towards the Nursing Profession. On comparison, both the groups had a positive image on the profession. Majority (92%) among the first year students and majority (83%) among the final year B.Sc. nursing students, were not in favor of changing their profession to non-nursing profession later in life. Conclusion: Considering the students positive attitude towards the Nursing Profession, it can be understood that the future of the Nursing Profession is bright. Though some of the students cited that it is stressful and hectic yet they would not change their profession