ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the anxiety level of candidate nurses and capture their perspective on the nursing profession in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. DESIGN AND METHODS: This descriptive study consisted of 322 nursing students in Turkey after the pandemic announcement of the World Health Organization. A web-based survey was used and anxiety levels was determined via State Anxiety Scale and Beck Anxiety Inventory. FINDINGS: Positive perspectives (63.4%) on the nursing profession before the pandemic decreased to 50.6%, whereas the negative (26.7%), and the undecided (9.9%) perspectives increased to 32.3% and 17.1%, of the total respectively. A significant increase was found in the anxiety scores with negative perspectives combined with an unwillingness to practice their profession in the future (P < .05). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Pregraduate training should be provided to candidate nurses about pandemic nursing and professional difficulties they may possibly encounter in infection epidemics.