CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF GRADUATES FROM THE HEALTH NURSE CLINICIAN AND PRIMARY CARE NURSING-ADULT PROGRAMS OF WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, 1971-1987 (MICHIGAN).
Contributors: University of Michigan.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 221
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Education.
Description: A questionnaire was administered by mail to the 178 graduates of the Health Nurse Clinician-Primary Care Nursing Program at Wayne State University from 1971-1987, to determine demographic factors and self-perceived professionalism, need satisfaction and career success. The questionnaire incorporated the Hall's Professionalism Inventory, the Porter's Need Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Zimmerman's Career Success Survey and other position-related questions. Respondents numbered 141, for a return rate of 79 percent. To complement these findings, subjects were interviewed in a semi-structured manner on the same topics.

Findings showed that graduates working in ambulatory care settings (N = 39) perceived themselves as possessing higher levels of professionalism (p =.05), need satisfaction (p =.025) and career success (p =.10) than did those working in other service settings. Also, those who were well satisfied with their career demonstrated higher levels of professionalism than those less satisfied with their career.

Other findings include the following: (1) forty-three percent of the respondents hold practice-titled positions; (2) one-third of the respondents are practicing in hospital settings; (3) approximately one-third of the respondents have always been in practice positions; (4) the major shift in positions is from practice to administrative type positions; (5) thirty-eight percent of the respondents reported that they would choose nursing as their career field if beginning again. Interviewed subjects stated that the major importance of graduate education was the further development of their theoretical basis of nursing, critical thinking skills and management skills in caring for a group of clients.

Recommendations regarding future studies include: (1) study career development further with emphasis on the effect of work-related organizational variables on career development, job satisfaction and career success; (2) develop instruments to measure professionalism, job satisfaction and career success specific to nursing; and (3) replicate this study or similar studies on a national or regional basis with random sampling of master's prepared certified nurse practitioners.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-06, Section: B, page: 2345.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, 1989.

School code: 0127.