Why do women choose nursing?

To answer the question, "Why do women choose nursing?", female nursing stud ents were given an opportunity to speak "in their own voices" to reveal the ir needs, motivations, and expectations. Ln a study employing grounded theo ry methodology 16 female nursing students were interviewed and audiotaped f or initial constant comparison analysis. Further analyses employing coding, categorizing, comparing, and contrasting of data made it possible to isola te recurrent words and phrases, and to identify concepts for the purpose of theory building. Reliability was established by both stability analysis an d reproducibility analysis. Validity was supported by construct (convergent and discriminant) and representational components. Not surprisingly, the c onstruct of desiring to care for others was readily apparent. However it wa s power and empowerment that emerged from the interviews as the most resoun ding and fully developed construct of the study. Students' references to pr actical motivations for choosing nursing were so notably scarce that their virtual omission constituted an important theme.