Undergraduate nursing students' compatibility with the nursing profession

Background: The high rate of attrition among nursing students has caused some nursing leaders to think about the necessity of considering students' personality during the process of admission into nursing schools. Due to the lack of studies on Iranian nursing students' personality traits, this study was designed to assess freshmen nursing students' personality characteristics and their compatibility with the demands of the nursing profession. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted at Tehran and kashan medical universities and one of the branches of Azad University. Convenience sampling was used and 52 freshmen nursing students were assessed using Holland's Vocational Interests Inventory. Results: From the total participants 63.5% were females and 36.5% were males. Based on the Holland's Vocational Interests Inventory 44% did not have appropriate personality characteristics for the nursing profession. 77% of the nursing students participating in the study reported that they lacked information about nursing. Conclusion: It seems that personality tests can help to select the best students for nursing schools from those who show good academic capabilities. This would decrease the rate of attrition and could improve the quality of care. © 2005 Adib-Hajbaghery and Dianati; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.