Impressions of the Nursing Profession Among Nursing Students and New Graduates During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a defining event for the next generation of the nursing workforce. Complex pandemic practice environments have raised concerns for the preparation and support of novice nurses, even as a multitude of nurses leave the profession.

Purpose: Researchers sought to examine nursing students' and new graduate nurses' impressions of the nursing profession in contrasting regions of New York State during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Future Capacity of the Nursing Workforce: COVID-19 Pandemic's Impacts on New Nurses and Nursing Students Toward the Profession.

Background: Nurses are concerned for their safety and conflicted about their career, because their duty to care for patients during the pandemic involved competing ethical obligations, including their own personal safety.

Purpose: The aim was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on new nurses and nursing students in terms of safety and interest in nursing specifically related to self-efficacy, geographic region case density, and frontline experience in health care.

Methods: New nurses and nursing students (N = 472) responded to an online survey examining self-efficacy, sense of safety, and interest in nursing.