Career guidance during nurse training: findings from an exploratory study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Career Development
• Health Professions Research

Background:

• Career guidance is crucial for nursing workforce retention and development.
• Limited research exists on the specific career guidance experiences of nurses during their training.
• Understanding these experiences can inform better support systems for nursing students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the career guidance experiences of nurses during their training.
• To contribute to a national cohort study on the careers of newly qualified registered general nurses.
• To identify challenges and propose improvements for career guidance research in nursing.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory study involving 112 nurses in questionnaire development and testing.
• Description of problems encountered in questionnaire-based career guidance research.
• Presentation of career guidance experiences from 31 nurses.

Main Results:

• Investigated 21 aspects of career guidance, including information on job applications, further education, and long-term career planning.
• Identified specific challenges in using postal questionnaires for career guidance research.
• Proposed a revised research design based on encountered issues.

Conclusions:

• Career guidance during nursing training requires further investigation with refined methodologies.
• The study provides foundational data for a larger national cohort study on nursing careers.
• Improved research designs are needed to accurately capture nurses' career guidance needs and experiences.