Perception of the nursing profession influence the career choice in nursing profession. The purpose of the study was I) to develop a theoretical base for the perception of the nursing profession, II) to develop and psychometrically test the Perception of Nursing Profession instrument to measure the perception of the nursing profession among nursing applicants in an entrance examination setting, and to develop a 360° virtual learning environment to provide correct information about the nursing profession to nursing applicants, and III) to evaluate the effectiveness of the 360° virtual learning environment on nursing applicants’ perception of the nursing profession and to evaluate the usability of the 360° virtual learning environment.

In phase I), an integrative literature review (n = 8), three focus group interviews with nursing applicants (n = 18) and a content analysis of the national documents regulating nursing education (n = 6) were conducted. Finally, a synthesis of the sub-phases’ results was carried out to describe the perception of the nursing profession. In phase II), the Perception of Nursing Instrument was developed. The psychometric properties of the instrument were tested in a cross-sectional study among (n = 1115) nursing applicants. In addition, the 360° virtual learning environment was developed. In phase III), a quasi-experimental study design was used as a part of the national entrance examination to nursing education to investigate the effect of the use of 360° virtual learning environment on the nursing applicants’ perception of the nursing profession.

The perception of the nursing profession consisted of the content of nursing work, the nature of the work, the education and career, and characteristics of a nurse. The Perception of Nursing Profession Instrument demonstrated preliminary validity and reliability, although, the difficulty level of the items must be enhanced to improve the measurement accuracy. The use of the 360° virtual learning environment had an effect on nursing applicants’ correct perception of the nursing profession and the usability of the 360° virtual learning environment was evaluated as good. The results of this study can be used to promote career choises in nursing profession. Further intervention studies are needed to identify effective strategies to influence nursing applicants’ perception of the nursing profession.