Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia

In the context of on-going shortages of nurses this paper looks at factors shaping the decision to enter nursing as a career. Evidence from three different Australian sources is drawn upon: a national panel survey of young school leavers, a survey of first year university students in WA and in-depth...

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Main Authors: Dockery, Alfred Michael, Barns, Angela
Format: Journal Article
Published: National Institute of Labour Studies 2005
Online Access:http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=010987174065369;res=IELBUS
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41533
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author Dockery, Alfred Michael
Barns, Angela
author_facet Dockery, Alfred Michael
Barns, Angela
author_sort Dockery, Alfred Michael
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In the context of on-going shortages of nurses this paper looks at factors shaping the decision to enter nursing as a career. Evidence from three different Australian sources is drawn upon: a national panel survey of young school leavers, a survey of first year university students in WA and in-depth interviews with 28 young women studying for their WA Tertiary Entrance Examinations. The results concur with previous studies that have found entrants to nursing courses to be of average-to-be low academic ability and socio-economic status, to have an affinity for caring and to place greater relative emphasis on balancing family and work rather than on career success. Some new insights into the factors influencing the decision to become a nurse further highlight the importance of perceptions of gender roles in society and are consistent with psychological and feminist approaches to career choice.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-415332017-01-30T14:52:40Z Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia Dockery, Alfred Michael Barns, Angela In the context of on-going shortages of nurses this paper looks at factors shaping the decision to enter nursing as a career. Evidence from three different Australian sources is drawn upon: a national panel survey of young school leavers, a survey of first year university students in WA and in-depth interviews with 28 young women studying for their WA Tertiary Entrance Examinations. The results concur with previous studies that have found entrants to nursing courses to be of average-to-be low academic ability and socio-economic status, to have an affinity for caring and to place greater relative emphasis on balancing family and work rather than on career success. Some new insights into the factors influencing the decision to become a nurse further highlight the importance of perceptions of gender roles in society and are consistent with psychological and feminist approaches to career choice. 2005 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41533 http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=010987174065369;res=IELBUS National Institute of Labour Studies fulltext
spellingShingle Dockery, Alfred Michael
Barns, Angela
Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia
title Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia
title_full Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia
title_fullStr Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia
title_full_unstemmed Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia
title_short Who'd be a nurse?: Some evidence on career choice in Australia
title_sort who'd be a nurse?: some evidence on career choice in australia
url http://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=010987174065369;res=IELBUS
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/41533