As the Ebola outbreak highlights the role of nurses on health care’s front lines, a just released Kaplan Test Prep survey of over 2,200 recent nursing school graduates* (all of whom have clinical experience and most of whom are already registered nurses) shows that 81% say that the duty of a medical professional sometimes requires placing him or herself in danger in the interest of saving lives. However, survey results also show that these recent graduates view the disease with understandable trepidation, should they be called upon to treat it:

  • Unprepared: Nearly 6 in 10 recent nursing school graduates (57%) say they feel unprepared to safely care for patients stricken with Ebola.
  • Unsafe: 55% say they’d feel personally unsafe if they were required to treat patients with Ebola.
  • Few Volunteers: Given their concerns about lack of preparation and personal safety, just 29% of new nurses say they would volunteer to treat Ebola patients.
  • Out of Africa: About a quarter (24%) of nursing school graduates surveyed say they’d travel to Africa to treat Ebola patients and prevent the disease from spreading.

“Nurses are among the most giving of all professionals, which explains why Gallup consistently finds that Americans view them as the most honest and ethical members of our workforce. But a disease for which there is so much misunderstanding is bound to cause apprehension among even the most compassionate of nurses - especially when the only people in the United States who contracted Ebola have been healthcare professionals,” said Susan Sanders, DNP, RN, NEA-BC and vice president of nursing, Kaplan Test Prep, who served as a chief emergency room nurse during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. “Their concerns underscore the need for better education, improved preparation and enhanced safety precautions around this disease.”

For more information about Kaplan’s survey or to arrange an interview with Susan Sanders, please contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com or 212.453.7548.

*From an e-survey conducted in October 2014 of 2,228 recent nursing school graduates who took a NCLEX-RN® exam prep course with Kaplan Test Prep.

About Kaplan Test Prep

Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services. Additionally, Kaplan operates new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job market and prepare participants for hire.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC)