Recruitment and retention of nursing students in Kuwait

This study describes the problems of recruiting and retaining student nurses in Kuwait. Based on a social definition paradigm, a convenience sample of 54 respondents made up of 25 final year high school students, 20 adults from the community and 9 nursing students who dropped out of the program were interviewed. Data were analyzed by comparing the responses of the three groups. Constant comparative analysis yielded one major societal proposition on which the recruitment and retention behaviors are anchored. This proposition states that nursing is a low status and non-respectable profession in Kuwait. Five key defining characteristics of the proposition were also identified. Furthermore, findings also showed that two prominent barriers to recruitment were lack of social support and lack of information about nursing. Similarly, social pressure, poor staff welfare and academic problems were some of the major factors responsible for poor retention of students. Suggestions for improvement include provision of awareness programs, career guidance and innovative policy on staff welfare.