| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH SUMMARY
Conviction and regret related to the choice of education and profession among new graduated registered nurses (RNs) in Norway.
This paper focuses on the attitudes of new graduate RNs in Norway towards their choice of education and profession. It is a part of an ongoing prospective cohort study with the title “Working career and career values among new graduate RNs”, financed by Western Norway Regional Health Authority and Bergen Deaconess University College. The project emphasises the partnership between the institutions of education and the employers for creating nurses dedicated for the profession.
The sample consists of the total population of RNs who graduated in the year 2000 from the six University Colleges in western Norway, a total of 590 nurses. Data used in this study were collected from questionnaires 1 and 3 ½ years after graduation.
In the study we analyse one open question (free comments submitted by the respondents) concerning conviction or regret related to the choice of nursing education, and several questions with bound categories for answers focusing on their attitudes towards the choice of profession and career plans. 1 and 3 ½ years after graduation 2 out of 3 RNs believed they were working within the nursing profession in ten years, while only 1 out of 3 believed they would do so the rest of their working career. 1 out of 3 stated that they sometimes regret their choice of RN education.
What characterise the convinced RNs compared to the regretful? Pearson's correlation coefficient shows significant positive associations with: Pride in being a nurse, pride in the type of work, educational satisfaction, job satisfaction, feeling secure in the occupational role and positive professional status among friends.
Logistic regression analyses shows significant association with: Age, original wish for study, attended university college and attending a present further education.
By analysing what the nurses were amplifying when they were asked to express their attitude of conviction or regret with their own words we got better insight in the reasons and circumstances referred. “The convinced” RNs explain about: Enjoying the work as nurse, a careful plan for the choice of education, satisfaction with the content of the education and it’s contribution for personal growth and the nursing education as a building block for further education and career. “The regretful” RNs explain about: Heavy work load, heavy responsibility, unsocial (inconvenient) working hours and problems with combining work with family life, low salaries and valuation and the nursing profession compared to other professions. | nb_NO |
