The Image of Community Nursing: Implications for Future Student Recruitment

Young people’s perceptions of nursing and, in particular, community nursing, do not reflect the realities of the profession. Community nursing needs to promote a realistic and positive image to young people who may consider nursing as a future career pathway. Strategies to increase awareness and understanding of community nursing roles are urgently required to halt the dissonance between the political drivers influencing changes in community care services, the advancing complexities of nursing roles, and the stereotypical imagery of nursing that continues to influence public thinking and interpretation of roles. The article draws on research that investigated the views of 40 young people from four schools in the West Midlands regarding nursing as a profession.