Qualifying from the pre-registration nurse diploma course: the demand for career guidance

A previous paper in Nurse Education Today [Marsland, L. (1996) Career guidance for student nurses: an unmet need, Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 10] presented research about career guidance received during nurse education by 1015 Registered General Nurses (RGNs) who qualified in 1990/1991. The findings revealed a substantial unmet need for guidance amongst this group, especially in relation to discussions about individual career planning. The paper argued that the greater variety of training experiences incorporated into the Project 2000 diploma course curriculum, plus the opportunity in some colleges to defer branch selection until after the common foundation programme, would increase rather than decrease the need for pre-registration guidance. The research presented in this subsequent paper investigates career guidance received by a cohort of adult branch nurses who qualified from the nurse diploma course in 1997/1998. Similarities and differences between the guidance experiences of the two cohorts are discussed, and deficits experienced by the diploma course nurses identified.