Profiling Australian school students' interest in a nursing career: insights for ensuring the future workforce.

Objective Given that the current shortage of nurses threatens the quality of health care globally, we urgently need to find new ways to bolster recruitment. This paper aims to understand patterns and predictors of interest in a nursing career among school students in order to inform ways of ensuring...

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Published in:Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 12 - 23
Main Authors: Gore, Jennifer, Rickards, Bernadette
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation Dec2017-Feb2018
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Dec2017-Feb2018
      vid: 35
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      pub: Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation
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        atl: Profiling Australian school students' interest in a nursing career: insights for ensuring the future workforce.
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        au:
          Gore, Jennifer
          Rickards, Bernadette
        affil: BEd, MPE, PhD, Laureate Professor and Director, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW Australia
      sug:
        subj:
          Careers in Nursing
          Students, High School New South Wales
          Students, Elementary New South Wales
          Human
          Workforce
          Prospective Studies
          Multimethod Studies
          New South Wales
          Surveys
          Focus Groups
          Purposive Sample
          Odds Ratio
          Logistic Regression
          Data Analysis Software
          Female
          Male
          Student Experiences
          Motivation
          Child
          Adolescence
          Child: 6-12 years
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Female
          Male
      ab: Objective Given that the current shortage of nurses threatens the quality of health care globally, we urgently need to find new ways to bolster recruitment. This paper aims to understand patterns and predictors of interest in a nursing career among school students in order to inform ways of ensuring a viable future workforce. Design A four-year longitudinal mixed methods study undertaken in New South Wales, Australia. Setting and subjects Survey data collected annually (2012-2015), involving 6,492 students in Years 3-12 in government schools, were analysed using logistic regression. Focus group data (2013-2015) involving 553 students and open-ended survey responses were analysed to investigate reasons for interest in nursing. Results Significant predictors of interest in nursing included being female and having a parent in a nursing occupation. A 'helping orientation' and prior experiences with nurses or nursing were key factors underpinning students' interest in this career. Some students perceived nursing as a 'safe' career choice, balancing practical concerns, such as job security, with their desire to care. Other students expressed ambivalence, with nursing but one of many 'caring' careers to which they were drawn. Conclusion Given that early experiences with nursing or nursing-related activities influenced the desire to pursue this career, developing new experiential strategies that engage school student interest are important for ensuring the growth and stability of the Australian nursing workforce.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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