"What made me stay?" A review of the reasons student nurses enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing programme completed their studies: a descriptive phenomenological study

Schools of nursing in New Zealand are now being asked for data on retention and completition rates for inclusion within their Tertiary Institution's performance. A continuing issue facing Schools of Nursing in their Bachelor of Nursing degree level studies are the struggles that some students face during their studies. Some overcome these difficulties and may complete the programme within the three year plan of study. Others take up to the five years allowed by the Nursing Council of New Zealand. This study, using a qualitative phenomenological research methodology, aimed to determine common themes that emerged as to why students stayed and completed their programme of study to become a Registered Nurse. The initial thematic analysis indicated that the greatest reason that students stayed related to the broad theme of "support". There were secondary themes under this related to family, friends and peers, and the tutorial staff. A second broad determinant of the decision to stay and complete their study related to the impact of financial costs on themselves and their families. Although support from family, friends, peers, and the education provider were important, participants stated that their goal setting and desire to achieve were critical to their completition of the programme. For us in the Faculty we believe that a major indicated theme is that we need to be more involved in the pastoral care of our students.