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Planning a pathway in nursing: do course experiences influence job plans?
1Department of Health & Human Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK. lmars@essex.ac.uk
Nurse Education Today
|April 4, 2003
Summary
Nursing course experiences significantly influence career plans, particularly long-term goals. While most specialties were encouraging, elderly care, outpatient, and theatre roles discouraged many new nurses.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Career Development
- Healthcare Workforce Studies
Background:
- Limited understanding of factors shaping nursing career decisions.
- Need for research on the impact of educational experiences on job aspirations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of nursing course experiences on immediate and future job plans.
- To identify specific nursing specialties affected by course experiences.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal questionnaire survey of 1596 newly qualified nurses across 37 universities.
- Data collected on experienced specialties, their influence (encouraging/discouraging), first job, and 3-year career plans.
Main Results:
- Course experiences generally encouraged specialty preference, but discouraged it in elderly care, outpatient, and theatre settings.
- Stronger association found between course influences and 3-year career plans compared to first job placement.
Conclusions:
- Certain nursing specialties possess intrinsic qualities that consistently encourage or discourage nurses, regardless of educational exposure.
- Educational interventions may be needed to address negative perceptions of specific specialties and improve recruitment.