A comparison of mature male and female nursing students course-related family and financial problems

Australia has witnessed a policy-led drive to widen access gates to undergraduate nurse education. In nursing education this has meant a move from recruiting primarily young female school-leavers to increased numbers of older women and to a lesser extent older men entering nurse education. Mature women generally choose to enter nursing because of the ease of entry into less restrictive nursing education programs. At Central Queensland University mature age students constitute 40 to 60% of entrants into the undergraduate nursing program. Previous studies indicate that mature students experience particular problems due to the requirements of nursing courses and in parallel with other disciplines problems related to the costs of undertaking higher education. This paper presents the findings from the Australian arm of an international study of mature student nurses. The study was a postal survey of mature students (N=118) undertaking undergraduate education at Central Queensland University. Data offers some support for the notion that course related problems impact differently on female and male students. The implications of the findings for funding policy and curriculum design will be discussed.