i think it is the job itself, some people just cant deal with the pressure, the very long hours, having such a responsibilty or just realise its really not for them and that they will be wasting their own time and everyone elses in a job that they really arent suited to/dont like as it is tough and can be very emotional at times as well as scary - children not being able to breathe, having to support parents when they are crying and vulnerable, in my first year i had a child who legged it off the ward in the middle of the night while another was fitting and i had to run out and find her with her mum, children will die on the ward sometimes, responsibility of giving medications, taking children to theatre, as well as everything else that goes with it. not to mention when we come home after a 12 hour shift we still have a ton of reading/assignments/revision and having to wind down from a shift, only to do it all again after a very short amount of sleep. i do love it though, its just very tiring and scary at times.
also, we dont get much money on the course, so some people may have to stop for financial reasons - i know if i didnt have the help of my family then i probably wouldnt manage at all, and im barely managing to get by as it is.
my friend has just left the course, she was with my group in child branch and realised that she really doesnt want to care for children and wants to do adult nursing instead, which our uni wont let her switch to. she realised that if she just stuck it out then yes she would have got her qualifications and everything, but she wouldnt enjoy it and that would make her a rubbish nurse, so is in the process of trying to move to another uni, but that doesnt look like its gonna happen so has oficially left the course and last i heard was gonna start a job as a HCA at a care home instead.