Beyond the Curriculum: Exploring the Influences on Mental Health Nursing as a Career Choice for Undergraduates

This study explores undergraduate nursing students' perception of mental health nursing as a potential career path. Utilising a qualitative phenomenographic approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nineteen nursing students enrolled in a comprehensive Bachelor of Nursing program from one metropolitan university located in Melbourne, Australia. Data analysis revealed five distinct categories of description, ranging from unclear role definition and polarised attitudes to a more nuanced understanding of the skills involved. These findings are significant as it illustrates that variations in students' understandings of the mental health nursing role persist even following targeted education, suggesting that deeply held perceptions are not easily shifted within existing curricular approaches.