Career Choice In Nursing

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Magliano, et al. (2004) compared the expressed beliefs about schizophrenia of 190 psychiatric nurses with the beliefs of 110 psychiatrists and 709 relatives of schizophrenic patients using a vignette followed by the Questionnaire on the Opinions about Mental Illness (QO). The researchers found that nurses had similar attitudes as psychiatrists related to the causes of schizophrenia (heredity, stress, and family conflicts) whereas family members endorsed stress, trauma, and love breakdowns). Nurses and psychiatrists held similar beliefs about the ability of a schizophrenic person to work and to understand criminal intent. Nurses had similar attitudes to those of relatives of schizophrenic patients related to the unpredictability and political…show more content…
Various research articles correlated career choice with attitudes toward clients (Happell & Taylor, 2001, Hayman-White & Happell, 2005, Melrose, 2002), career counseling (Robinson & Murrells, 1998), as well as interest and a sense of self-efficacy (Bell, et al.,1998; Nauta, Kahn, Angell & Cantarelli, 2002). Each of these aspects was important in determining career choice. Of note, Bell, et al. (1998) correlated career choice with the student’s sense of confidence and competence, believing that if confidence could be enhanced, competence and career choice would follow. Nauta, et al. (2002), studied which of two variables, self-efficacy or interest, was predominant in career…show more content…
The themes were perception of self (positive and negative), perception of patients (wandering, noisy, violent, bizarre, or positive), perception of the environment (staff shortage, overcrowding), and perceived feelings (fear, despair, frustration). Her study most closely follows the direction of this study. She ultimately recommended nursing education confront the problems of generalist nurses working with mentally ill patients by adding coursework related to communication, assertiveness, psychiatric nursing information, and nursing practice. She also recommended that nurses receive continuous support from their department managers in working with this population. Ross & Goldner (2009) conducted a “systematic, targeted search and review of the existing body of literature pertaining to stigma, negative attitudes, and discrimination towards mental illness, specifically as viewed through the lens of the nursing profession (p.559)”. This concentrated review of nursing literature discussed two themes: nurses as stigmatizers (negative attitudes toward mental illness – if greater familiarity led to less stigma, nurses wouldn’t judge; fear, fragmented care – focusing on physical not the psychiatric; and lack of resources for good, safe care), and as ‘the stigmatized’(for being psychiatric nurses, or for having mental illness

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