Graduates in nursing: a report of a longitudinal study at the University of Hull

A longitudinal study of the career paths of graduates in nursing from the University of Hull is in progress. The study uses a postal questionnaire, which is sent annually to each graduate. Data on the total sample of 99 graduates between 1981 and 1986 are summarized and discussed. All the graduates have registered as general nurses; 96% entered nursing practice. They tend to consolidate general nursing experience in hospital before obtaining further nursing qualifications and/or specializing. Over a period of some 4 years, a gradual shift away from hospital nursing to the community (especially health visiting), research and innovative health care posts can be observed. The findings of the Hull study confirm earlier findings from the Universities of Manchester, Edinburgh and Surrey that graduate nurses do enter and stay in nursing, that they seek further academic and nursing qualifications and that there is a shift towards work in the community.