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

AIMS: 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. BACKGROUND: 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. DESIGN: A cross-sectional online survey. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSIONS: 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.

The Presence of a Physician Role Model and the Career Preference of Medical Students Are Associated With Rural Self-efficacy.

Rural career preference is known to be affected by rural self-efficacy. This study aims to explore whether the presence of a physician role model and having a medical department of interest influence rural self-efficacy among medical students. The study sample comprised 813 students (464 male and 349 female). We assessed rural self-efficacy using a validated scale that comprised 15 questions. The effect of the presence of a physician role model and the choice of medical department on rural self-efficacy score was examined. Multivariable-adjusted regression analysis showed that the presence of a physician role model was significantly associated with the rural self-efficacy score (ß = 0.236, p < 0.001), as were gender (ß = -0.096, p = 0.004), admission while living in hometown (ß = 0.077, p = 0.041), receiving a scholarship for regional duty (ß = 0.079, p = 0.025), admission based on school recommendation (ß = 0.077, p = 0.031), and subjective difficulty with living in a rural area (ß = -0.201, p < 0.001). Moreover, a higher rural self-efficacy score was significantly associated with students who listed general medicine/family medicine (ß = 0.204, p < 0.001), pediatrics (ß = 0.098, p = 0.004), or obstetrics and gynecology (ß = 0.108, p = 0.002) as their department of choice, while anesthesiology (ß = -0.075, p = 0.023) was significantly associated with a lower rural self-efficacy score. These relationships were consistent for both males and females. The presence of a physician role model and the choice of medical department are important factors for higher rural self-efficacy scores.

Nursing students' perceptions on community care and placement preference in Saudi Arabian universities: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing shortage of highly educated community nurses; only a small number of nursing students choose to work in the community. OBJECTIVES: To understand the perception among nursing students in Saudi Arabia about working in the community and where they intend to pursue their careers. DESIGN: A quantitative cross-sectional design. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled in their first to final years of a bachelor's degree program at three Saudi Arabian universities. METHODS: Data were collected from September-December 2022 using the 'Scale on Community Care Perceptions', which included demographic questions and measures reflecting their impressions of a community care placement, a community care career, and their current placement preferences. RESULTS: In total, 439 students completed the online questionnaire. Nursing students' community care feelings (affective component), expectations, and regards as a future profession were moderately positive with a mean of 6.68 (1-10 scale; negative-positive perceptions). Regarding placement preference, many students chose general hospitals (N = 212, 48.30 %); a small number chose community care (N = 77, 17.54 %). The positive choice of respondents was influenced by the various technical nursing skills required (N = 212, 10.6 %), enjoyable relationships with patients (N = 211, 10.5 %), and many opportunities for advancement (N = 169, 8.4 %). Furthermore, students' placement preferences were significantly predicted by their expectations of placement and future professions in community care (F = 95.24, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.30). A significant difference was also found among their preferences in terms of the level of education and the experience of family and friends working in the community (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Community care is an undervalued career choice among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. To bolster nursing students to prefer this career path, nursing schools, in coordination with local authorities, must formulate and implement a clearly defined career development plan that allows them to fully immerse themselves in community care activities.

Nursing students' expectations and career preferences before clinical placement in mainland China: A qualitative exploration.

AIM: To explore nursing students' expectations and career preferences before their clinical placements. BACKGROUND: Clinical placement is an important adaptation stage through which nursing students become nurses. Nursing students' expectations of clinical placement are not always met. There is a huge demand-supply gap in the nursing labor force and ensuring successful nursing placements could offset this gap. DESIGN: This study adopted a descriptive qualitative design. METHODS: Each participant was interviewed in the weeks before the start of their clinical placement. Interviews were semi-structured and audio recorded. Data were analyzed using Clarke and Braun's thematic analysis. RESULTS: This study included 25 students (11 males and 14 females; age 20-21 years), which was sufficient to reach data saturation. We identified 138 codes and six themes emerged: a) expectations of role transition; b) expectations of self-enhancement; c) expectations of teaching styles; d) fears and worries; e) preliminary career preferences; and f) motivating and obstacle factors of engaging in a nursing career. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students had various expectations of their upcoming clinical placements alongside certain worries and fears. More predictive and targeted strategies need to be considered to ensure the success of clinical nursing placements. Further research should explore and verify strategies to meet nursing students' expectations and promote their preference for a nursing career.

Preferências de carreira entre graduandos de medicina no sudoeste da Nigéria / Career preferences of final-year medical students in south-west Nigeria

Resumo Estudantes de medicina possuem diferentes opções de trajetórias acadêmicas ou profissionais após a graduação. Este estudo busca determinar as preferências de carreira entre graduandos de medicina e os fatores que contribuem para tal decisão. Pesquisa descritiva e transversal foi realizada com graduandos de medicina da Afe Babalola University, localizada em Ekiti State, Nigéria. Dados foram coletados por um questionário bem estruturado e analisados usando SPSS versão 21.0. A estatística descritiva inclui tabelas de frequência, gráficos, médias e desvios padrão. Um total de 100 graduandos participaram do estudo, dos quais 29 (29,0%) homens e 71 (71,0%) mulheres, com relação homem/mulher de 0,4 para 1. A faixa etária dos participantes foi de 21 a 30 anos, com média (±SD) de 23,5 (±1,4). Do total de participantes, 72% planejavam ingressar na pós-graduação após a faculdade de medicina, a maioria no Reino Unido, sendo o mestrado em Saúde Pública a qualificação de maior interesse. Da mesma forma, 76% dos entrevistados planejavam buscar uma bolsa de pós-graduação após a faculdade, também em sua maioria no Reino Unido. A especialidade mais procurada é Obstetrícia e Ginecologia (43%), seguida por Cirurgia (40%), Medicina de Família (34%), Medicina Comunitária (33%), Pediatria (25%) e Medicina Interna (23%), enquanto a especialidade menos procurada é Patologia Química (28%), seguida por Microbiologia Médica (27%) e Anatomia Mórbida (24%). O principal fator considerado para esta escolha é o interesse pessoal pela especialidade, seguido por perspectivas financeiras, estilo de vida confortável e horário de trabalho flexível. Mestrado em Saúde Pública e especialização em Obstetrícia e Ginecologia são as carreiras mais buscadas por graduandos de medicina, escolha majoritariamente pautada em seus interesses pessoais.

Abstract Medical students have many different options of academic and professional undertakings after graduation. The aim of this study is to determine the career preferences of students in their final year of medical school and to determine the factors that contributed for such decision. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving the final-year medical students of Afe Babalola University, Ekiti State, Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Descriptive statistics included frequency tables, charts, means and standard deviations. A total number of 100 final-year medical students participated in the study, out of which 29 (29.0%) were males and 71 (71.0%) were females, with a male to female ratio of 0.4 to 1. The age range of the respondents was 21 to 30 years, with a mean(±SD) of 23.5(±1.4). 72% of the respondents planned to pursue a postgraduate academic qualification after graduating from medical school, mostly in the United Kingdom, and a Master of Public Health was the most sought qualification. Similarly, 76% of the respondents planned to pursue a postgraduate medical fellowship after medical school, also mostly in the United Kingdom. The specialty most sought-after is Obstetrics and Gynaecology (43%), followed by Surgery (40%), Family Medicine (34%), Community Medicine (33%), Paediatrics (25%), and Internal Medicine (23%) while the least sought-after specialty is Chemical pathology (28%), followed by Medical Microbiology (27%) and Morbid Anatomy (24%). The most important factor considered by the respondents in choosing a particular specialty is their personal interest in that specialty, followed by financial prospects, comfortable lifestyle, and flexible working hours. Master of Public Health degree and postgraduate fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialty are the career preferences for most of the final-year medical students in this study, and this is largely informed by their personal interest in these fields.

Student nurses' career preferences for working with people with dementia: A longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Internationally there are too few suitably skilled registered nurses to meet the demands for dementia care. Research has established low preferences in undergraduate nursing students for working with older people. However, there is limited research on preferences for dementia care. Understanding career preferences is one component of ensuring future workforce capacity. OBJECTIVE: To assess student nurses' preferences during undergraduate training in relation to working with people with dementia. METHODS: Data from a longitudinal survey collected at two UK universities were analysed (n = 488). Measures included career preferences, demographics, participation in a dementia educational intervention, and measures of attitude, knowledge, and empathy to dementia. Open text responses were also included to explore the students' reasons for their preferences. RESULTS: The preference for working with older people and people with dementia was low and decreased during training. A linear regression analysis supports a strong relationship of preferences with attitudes to dementia. Content analysis of students' reasons for their preferences found that perceived difficulty and lack of confidence contributes to the negative evaluation of working with people with dementia. CONCLUSION: Undergraduate nursing education needs to continue to review its contribution to preparing the dementia workforce and act to support positive attitudes to working with people with dementia across nursing specialties.

Preferences of newly qualified healthcare professionals for working with people with dementia: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: there is little research on preferences in students and newly qualified healthcare professionals for working with people with dementia. Understanding the development of these preferences can help inform strategies to increase workforce capacity in response to current suboptimal dementia care and the increasing numbers of people with dementia. OBJECTIVE: to explore the factors that influence career preferences in relation to working with people with dementia. Specifically, to understand how these factors relate to early career doctors' and nurses' preferences and how they influence decisions and perspectives on their careers. METHODS: qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 newly qualified doctors and nurses within 2 years of graduation. This included a subset of participants that had taken part in a dementia educational intervention during their undergraduate training. Transcripts were analysed using grounded theory methods. RESULTS: the results present six main categories representing complex interlinked factors influencing preferences for working with people with dementia as well as exploring the definition of a career working with people with dementia. The factors include the importance of making a difference; seeing dementia care as a different type of care; its perceived alignment with personal characteristics; perceptions of people with dementia; care environments and career characteristics. DISCUSSION: this is the first study to explore the factors influencing preferences for working with people with dementia in newly qualified healthcare professionals. It provides useful data to inform workforce planning, and curriculum and practice development to stimulate interest and drive improved quality of care.

Longitudinal GP placements - inspiring tomorrow's doctors?

General practice worldwide is facing a severe recruitment crisis, with significantly fewer medical students choosing to pursue careers in primary care than are required to meet society's growing demands. The role of GP placements and GP tutors has been highlighted as having a significantly positive influence on medical students' perceptions of general practice. However, how students perceive these experiences to have influenced their subsequent career preferences remains poorly understood.We sought to explore how a longitudinal GP placement influences medical students' preferences regarding a career in general practice, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of such placements. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with five fourth-year medical students using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis methodology.Four overarching concepts were identified, with nine superordinate themes, to describe how a longitudinal placement had influenced medical students' preference regarding a career in general practice. There appears to have been a matching process between an expanding knowledge of the realities of being a GP and an increasing understanding of self. The GP tutor and 'authentic' experiences to consult patients themselves developed a growing sense of self-efficacy within students, all of which resulted in a significant internal desire to become future GPs.

Preferences of nursing and medical students for working with older adults and people with dementia: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: A current issue in workforce planning is ensuring healthcare professionals are both competent and willing to work with older adults with complex needs. This includes dementia care, which is widely recognised as a priority. Yet research suggests that working with older people is unattractive to undergraduate healthcare students. METHODS: The aim of this systematic review and narrative synthesis is to explore the factors related to healthcare (medical and nursing) student preferences' for working with older people and people with dementia. Searches were conducted in five databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINHAL, BNI, ERIC. Screening, data extraction and quality appraisal were conducted by two independent reviewers. A narrative, data-based convergent synthesis was conducted. RESULTS: One thousand twenty-four papers were screened (139 full texts) and 62 papers were included for a narrative synthesis. Factors were grouped into seven categories; student characteristics, experiences of students, course characteristics, career characteristics, patient characteristics, work characteristics and the theory of planned behaviour. CONCLUSION: Health educators should review their role in cultivating student interest in working with older adults, with consideration of student preparation and the perceived value of this work. There is a lack of evidence about the career preferences of students in relation to dementia, and this warrants further research.

"Where would I prefer to work after graduation?" Career preferences of students attending Italian nursing schools.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, nursing students have reported a preference for working in intensive care, paediatrics, and operating theatres after graduation, disregarding psychiatry and geriatrics. Many factors can influence student choices. Educators need to know students' preferences and influencing factors in order to plan appropriate interventions to orient future nurses towards the clinical areas that are most in need of trained and motivated nurses. OBJECTIVES: To identify career preferences and student-related factors that influence the career intentions of students attending Italian nursing schools. DESIGN: A cross sectional design. SETTING: The study was conducted in 14 Italian nursing schools. PARTICIPANTS: Students enrolled on a three-year undergraduate nursing program were invited to participate. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and clinical area preferences. A multivariate binary logistic regression was performed to identify the student characteristics influencing career choices. RESULTS: 1534 students were enrolled in the study. Students preferred working in paediatrics, emergency departments and operating theatres, and these preferences were consistent in all of the three years. Psychiatry and geriatrics were the clinical areas least preferred in all the three years. Age, gender, nationality, and university attended were the factors that predicted students' preferences for specific clinical areas. CONCLUSIONS: In line with international literature, students attending Italian nursing schools expressed preferences for working in some clinical areas and to disregard others. Nursing curricula and internships need to be reviewed in terms of declared and hidden curriculum in order to enable students to view all areas of practice as equally valuable.

Perceptions of community care and placement preferences in first-year nursing students: A multicentre, cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing shortages of highly educated community nurses, far too few nursing students choose community care. This means that a strong societal problem is emerging that desperately needs resolution. OBJECTIVES: To acquire a solid understanding of the causes for the low popularity of community care by exploring first-year baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of community care, their placement preferences, and the assumptions underlying these preferences. DESIGN: A quantitative cross-sectional design. SETTINGS: Six universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing students in the first semester of their 4-year programme (n=1058). METHODS: Data were collected in September-December 2014. The students completed the 'Scale on Community Care Perceptions' (SCOPE), consisting of demographic data and three subscales measuring the affective component of community care perception, perceptions of a placement and a profession in community care, and students' current placement preferences. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS: For a practice placement, 71.2% of first-year students prefer the general hospital and 5.4% community care, whereas 23.4% opt for another healthcare area. Students consider opportunities for advancement and enjoyable relationships with patients as most important for choosing a placement. Community care is perceived as a 'low-status-field' with many elderly patients, where students expect to find little variety in caregiving and few opportunities for advancement. Students' perceptions of the field are at odds with things they believe to be important for their placement. CONCLUSION: Due to misconceptions, students perceive community care as offering them few challenges. Strategies to positively influence students' perceptions of community nursing are urgently required to halt the dissonance between students' preference for the hospital and society's need for highly educated community nurses.

Factores que configuran las preferencias de empleo de los estudiantes de doctorado en ingeniería por la academia y la industria

La investigación ha demostrado que las decisiones laborales de los estudiantes de Doctorado en Ingeniería están influenciadas por sus preferencias de empleo por la academia o la industria. Los estudios han encontrado que estas preferencias están configuradas por factores como la edad, el género, la presencia de hijos y el nivel educativo de los padres. Sin embargo, una aproximación que considere simultáneamente varios factores no ha sido empleada para investigar la formación de dichas preferencias. Este artículo analiza los factores que tienen relación con la configuración de las preferencias de empleo de 63 estudiantes de doctorado matriculados en una universidad en Colombia. La edad, la presencia de hijos y el grado de escolaridad de la madre tienen relación con las preferencias por la academia. En cambio, no tener experiencia laboral antes de ingresar al programa de doctorado estructura las preferencias por la industria.

Research has demonstrated that job decisions made by engineering PhD students are influenced by their career preferences for academia or industry. Studies have found that career preferences are shaped by a set offactors including age, gender, the presence of children, y parents' educational attainment. However, an all-embracing approach has not been used to investigate the shaping of students' career preferences. This article analyzes the factors that have a relation with the shaping of 63 PhD students' career preferences enrolled in a Colombian university. An analysis of the relationship between an array of factors y students' career preferences is made. Age, the presence of children, and mothefs educational attainment have a relation with the shaping of students' career preferences for academia. Conversely, not having job experience before enrolling in the PhD program shapes students' interest in non-academic job positions.

Career Preferences and Opinions on Animal Welfare and Ethics: A Survey of Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand.

Historically, the veterinary profession has understood animal welfare primarily in terms of animal health and productivity, with less recognition of animals' feelings and mental state. Veterinary students' career preferences and attitudes to animal welfare have been the focus of several international studies. As part of a survey in Australia and New Zealand, this study reports on whether veterinary students prioritize animal welfare topics or professional conduct on the first day of practice and examines links between students' career preferences and their institution, gender, and year of study. The questionnaire was designed to explore the importance that students assign to topics in animal welfare and ethics. Of the 3,320 students invited to participate in the online survey, a total of 851 students participated, representing a response rate of 25.5%. Students' preferences increased for companion-animal practice and decreased for production-animal practice as they progressed through their studies. Females ranked the importance of animal welfare topics higher than males, but the perceived importance declined for both genders in their senior years. In line with previous studies, this report highlighted two concerns: (1) the importance assigned to animal welfare declined as students progressed through their studies, and (2) males placed less importance overall on animal welfare than females. Given that veterinarians have a strong social influence on animal issues, there is an opportunity, through enhanced education in animal welfare, to improve student concern for animal welfare and in turn improve animal care and policy making by future veterinarians.

Opportunity lost? The major in mental health nursing in Australia.

BACKGROUND: The ongoing difficulty in educating and sustaining an adequate nursing workforce in mental health settings has been identified throughout the world. Different strategies have been implemented internationally to deal with this situation. In Australia major streams in mental health nursing were introduced in some Australian universities to promote mental health nursing as a viable career choice for nursing students. Fourteen universities had implemented or planned to implement a major stream in mental health nursing. From a survey of these programs a lack of consistency in the structure and content of programs was evident. For most programs the intakes had been relatively small, although retention rates appeared promising. OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent majors in mental health nursing introduced in Australia have been sustained since their implementation. DESIGN: Cross-sectional design. A survey instrument used in 2010 was readministered in 2013. SETTING: Schools of Nursing in Australia where a major in mental health nursing had been implemented or planned. PARTICIPANTS: Subject and program coordinators. METHODS: The survey was administered via email. RESULTS: Of the 14 majors in mental health nursing originally proposed or implemented, only five were remaining, three had never commenced the program despite plans to do so and six programs once operating had now ceased. Numbers of students undertaking the program have tended to be small. Few modification changes in the structure and content in the majors since initial implementation were reported. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the major in mental health nursing has not been a successful or sustainable strategy, and therefore is unlikely to contribute positively to strengthening the mental health nursing workforce. The availability of sufficient graduate nurses with the interest and skills to pursue a career in mental health nursing is becoming urgent. The adequate resourcing of strategies to address this issue needs to be considered as a matter of priority.