The impact of final-year clinical placements on nursing students' career planning for the graduate year and beyond

This study had three objectives: 1) to determine final-year nursing students' career preferences and long-term career plans; 2) to investigate factors influencing nursing students' specialty choices following their final-year clinical placement(s); and 3) to understand how final-year clini...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nurse education in practice 2024-03, Vol.76, p.103944-103944, Article 103944
Main Authors: Anyango, Edah, Adama, Esther, Brown, Janie, Ngune, Irene
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Career Choice
Career development planning
Career planning
Career preferences
Careers
Clinical nursing
Clinical placements
Cross-Sectional Studies
Curricula
Curriculum Design
Data Analysis
Decision making
Elder care
Employment
Humans
Learning management systems
Long term
Mental disorders
Mental health
Nurses
Nursing care
Nursing education
Nursing Students
Occupational choice
Polls & surveys
Self-efficacy
Stereotypes
Students
Students, Nursing
Surveys and Questionnaires
Workforce
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Summary:This study had three objectives: 1) to determine final-year nursing students' career preferences and long-term career plans; 2) to investigate factors influencing nursing students' specialty choices following their final-year clinical placement(s); and 3) to understand how final-year clinical placements can be used to develop the career interests of nursing students to different nursing specialties. Clinical placement provides an insightful experience that may influence students to feel inclined to work in certain specialties. Therefore, each clinical placement should promote students' learning and enhance positive experiences that could develop their career interests and encourage them to seek employment in the specialty on graduation. A cross-sectional online survey. The survey was structured using the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale – Short Form. The questionnaire was distributed to final-year nursing students (N = 222) at two public universities in Western Australia. This study specifically reports on the Goal selection and Planning domains of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale – Short Form, which were explored through additional questions prompting participants to explain their career preferences and reasons for their nursing specialty choices. Most participants, fifty-three percent, had low confidence in making career decisions. The Goal Selection and Planning questions measured the students' confidence in choosing a suitable practice destination and preparing for their professional careers. Overall, participants prefer employment in hospital settings both in the short- and long-term aspects of their nursing career. The factors influencing the students' career decisions were classified into three main categories: the clinical environment, educational factors and individual factors. The nursing curriculum may encourage nursing students to work in some specialties over others. This study provides insight into factors that may promote or inhibit students' career choices and how students may be motivated to pursue the less preferred nursing specialties.
ISSN:1471-5953
1873-5223
DOI:10.1016/j.nepr.2024.103944