Planning a pathway in nursing: do course experiences influence job plans?

Little is known about the factors that influence career decisions within nursing. This study contributes to a limited body of knowledge about the affect of course experiences on job plans. The findings presented are from the first phase of a longitudinal questionnaire survey investigating nurses' careers. One thousand five hundred and ninety six adult branch nurses (87% response rate) from 37 universities returned a questionnaire at qualification which included questions about specialties experienced during the course, whether course experiences encouraged or discouraged them from working in the specialty, specialty(ies) of first job, and specialty(ies) planned for three years after qualification. Overall, course experiences were more likely to encourage than discourage diplomates from wanting to work in a particular specialty, although for three specialties (elderly care, outpatients and theatres) a significantly greater proportion felt discouraged than encouraged. Uniformity in the findings across the universities suggests that certain specialties may have intrinsic features that encourage or discourage many nurses from working in them, irrespective of the experience they gain. A stronger association existed between course influences and plans for three years after qualification, than between course experiences and first job. Findings are discussed in the context of other research in the area and their implications for recruitment.