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A comparison of the career aspirations of degree and P2000 diploma graduates from UK nursing programmes
H P Bartlett1, P Hind, H R Taylor
1Oxford Centre for Health Care Research and Development, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Aim:
This paper reports the findings from a study of career aspirations undertaken as part of a larger study on the graduate outcomes of two different preregistration nursing educational programmes in the UK.
Methods:
A self-completion questionnaire was administered to 52 degree graduates and 28 diplomates from two Universities on completion of their course.
Findings:
The findings suggest that while graduates appeared more definite over their long-term career goals, diplomates were more confident in their initial decision to enter the nursing profession. All respondents showed a marked tendency towards hospital-based clinical posts on graduation. Degree graduates displayed a greater interest in working overseas, nominating a far broader range of possible destinations and expressed interest in a wider range of further education courses, including Master's and PhD degrees.
Conclusions:
The career aspirations of degree graduates and diplomates revealed in this study highlight a number of issues with implications for workforce planning, recruitment and retainment. Further larger scale longitudinal research is warranted.