Mental health: a career choice for new graduate nurses

Abstract

This research aims to investigate whether student nurses view mental health as a career option. It is clear that there is a shortage of nurses entering mental health, and there are currently insufficient nursing graduates entering mental health to ensure a certainty for future mental health services. Little is known about what influence student nurses' choice about which area they will practice in when they graduate. The issue of insufficient trained health professionals entering the workforce was considered to be of sufficient concern that the Ministry of Health convened a national working party to identify the extent of the shortages and to make recommendations on ways to address this problem. The restructuring of education for nurses and the restructuring of health services are interrelated in this complex area. A decentralised education and health system has had a major impact on this area of health. The relationship is one of interdependency, with clinical areas needing to work more closely with education. International research has been undertaken to try to explain why insufficient numbers of nursing graduates do not enter the speciality of mental health. Some of the factors identified are: the nature of the work and the related stigmatisation of nurses working in this area; the uncertainty of the health structures; and the influences that educators exert on selecting students who want to work in mental health. Very little research has been undertaken in New Zealand to identify factors which influence students' career choice when they graduate. Many students entering nursing do not have background knowledge of mental health and therefore they do not choose this as a career choice. The exposure to appropriate mental health placements varies in both appropriateness and quality. The influence of tutors/lecturers on students needs to be acknowledged. The role of the Nursing Council of New Zealand as the statutory body responsible for registering nurses is critical in directing the outcomes for new graduates. The decision students make when applying for their first position as a new graduate has a foundation in influences on the students before and during their training. Are these influences directly or indirectly from the educators/lecturers, or are nursing students influenced by the staff in clinical placements? Some new graduates will enter mental health not as a choice but as an alternative to being unemployed, while some will enter mental health as an informed choice. Consumers in the mental health area demand care that is delivered by highly skilled professionals who have the desire to work in this area of health. Some new graduates will enter mental health, informed and positive about the choice they have made. This study concludes by identifying factors that influence and facilitate new graduate nurses entering mental health. It provides information for educators and health managers with recruitment issues.