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Getting started: choice and constraint in obtaining a post after qualifying as a registered mental nurse
Author(s) -
" Robinson,
Murrells
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2834.1998.00060.x
Subject(s) - workforce , attrition , nursing , mental health , mental health nursing , medicine , registered nurse , constraint (computer aided design) , service (business) , psychology , nurse education , psychiatry , political science , mechanical engineering , economy , dentistry , economics , law , engineering
Aims : To explore the extent to which obtaining a post after qualifying as a registered mental nurse (RMN) is a matter of exercising choice or experiencing constraints. Background : The paper is drawn from the first phase of a longitudinal study of the careers of RMNs, commissioned in response to concerns about attrition from the mental health nursing workforce. Methods : Questionnaires were sent to all RMNs ( n =550) qualifying from 3‐year and post‐registration courses in four regional health authorities; 80% (447) responded. Findings : Some 73% had obtained a National Health Service (NHS) psychiatric nursing post shortly after qualifying; 95% had hoped to do so. Of those with a post, 71% had obtained their first choice of client group. A wide range of professional and personal constraints emerged as affecting job choice; lack of NHS posts in preferred location and/or speciality was cited most often. Conclusions : Support and guidance may be helpful for nurses experiencing delays in obtaining a post, or who are starting careers in a post which is not their first choice.