RESUMEN
AIM: To identify factors influencing high school students' choice of nursing and explore strategic interventions to promote nursing as a career in the Arab region. BACKGROUND: This study forms part of a PhD thesis, conducted in Bahrain, in a healthcare environment with a high dependence on expatriate nurses to maintain nursing services. However, in attracting local candidates to study nursing, the public image of nursing in the Middle East must be improved by implementing strategies that are sensitive to the Arabic culture. DESIGN: A mixed methods approach incorporating quantitative and qualitative dimensions. METHODS: Data were collected between 2012 - 2015 using self-administered questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and written narratives. The study sample included high school students, parents, career guidance counsellors, and nursing students. A one-group pre-test posttest design was used to introduce a nursing recruitment intervention to high school students. spss was used to analyse quantitative data. Colaizzi's () and Krueger's () frameworks were applied to analyse the qualitative data. FINDINGS: It is proposed that the public perceptions of Arab people about nursing may be grounded in strong cultural influences and any efforts to improve the enrolment and retention of local nurses should consider enhancing the social values of the nursing profession. The NURSING-Positive Recruitment Arabic Model incorporates essential elements which will guide nursing recruitment in the Arabic cultures. CONCLUSION: The study findings reflect certain issues similar to the core international literature on nursing recruitment, however there are fundamental issues particular to the Arab region, which must be included in the development of a nursing recruitment strategy for Arabic nursing.
