Altruism versus self-interest
The motivation behind nursing students' choice of study programme
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7577/sjvd.5791Keywords:
Altruism, self-interest, survey, educational choice, recruitmentAbstract
In this article, we investigate what motivates young people to study nursing despite low application numbers and negative media coverage. The study highlights the distinction between altruistic and self-interested motivation and compares nursing students on the basis of their gender, age, previous work experience and the priority they gave the programme when they applied.
Quantitative data was collected in a digital survey in the spring of 2023 and analysed with SPSS 29. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation, F- and t-test. The sample consisted of 109 nursing students at two educational institutions, who chose to participate. Altruistic and intrinsic motivation were operationalised in the form of 16 statements, which in turn were used to construct two indices.
The results indicate that nursing students are motivated by both altruistic and intrinsic motivation factors, but with a predominance of altruistic motivation. The two dimensions are not in conflict with each other. There was little difference in the motivation of different groups. The only one of the background variables investigated that had a significant impact was previous experience of care work.
Empirical data that sheds light on student motivation can contribute to more targeted recruitment efforts. Today's nursing students appear to be a homogeneous group in terms of motivation, but the study also raises the question of whether their emphasis on altruistic values distinguishes them from other applicants. If young people's self-orientation increases while their altruism decreases, we can expect even greater challenges in recruiting nursing students in the future. Such a situation will require further innovation to make the profession attractive to new generations.
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