Career commitment and sense of calling in nursing students: a longitudinal study

Background: Under China's one-child policy, the new generation of nursing students has gradually entered the workforce. Their career commitment, career self-efficacy, and sense of calling have undergone changes. It is necessary to assess the relationships and underlying mechanisms among these factors in order to stabilize the nursing workforce and cultivate high-quality clinical nursing professionals. Methods: A cross-lagged design was used, with a total of 693 nursing students participating in September and December 2022. The 27-item undergraduate career commitment scale, the Chinese version of career self-efficacy scale, and the brief calling scale were measured over time. Results: The relationships between career commitment, career self-efficacy, and sense of calling differed by only child and non-only child nursing undergraduates. Conclusion: It is important to introduce specific measures aimed at enhancing the quality of nursing education and implementing effective nursing management methods to ensure the stability of the nursing workforce.