Tutoring as a Way of Achieving Employability for Nursing Students at the University of Seville

AbstractProfessional tutoring is aimed at training and adaptation of students to the labour market. The objective of this study is to find out the opinions of professors and students of nursing of the University of Seville, concerning their approach to professional issues relating to the professional future of these students. Following a non-experimental cross-methodology, data was collected from questionnaires completed by professors and students of nursing of the University of Seville (Spain) during the academic year 2011/ 2012. For data analysis, SPSS was used for closed questions, and Atlas.ti for open ones. Using samples of 181 teachers (76.1% of the total) and 1015 students (78.1% of the total), it was observed that only a third of the professors have claimed to address professional issues in tutoring, compared with nearly 12% of students. There were discrepancies in the visions of both groups, with teachers claiming to have put more emphasis on the professionalizing approach. The professors (13.4%) made 15 proposals for improvements, while students (22.4%) presented 158 suggestions on professional issues. In conclusion, the tutoring approach to professional future is not sufficiently empowered. The older the student and the higher the class level, the greater the demand for attention to professional content in tutoring, as students tutored are closer to finishing their studies and requiring access to employment. Professionalizing tutoring is proposed as a strategy for greater employability of future professionals