A tale of two bridges: factors influencing career choices of trainee nursing associates in England: a longitudinal qualitative study

Abstract

Aim: The nursing associate role has created a new second-level nursing role and provided an alternative route into registered nursing. For some, this provides a previously inaccessible opportunity for career progression. The aim of the study was to understand the factors that influence career choices of trainee nursing associates.

Design: A longitudinal qualitative study of trainee nursing associate motivations, experiences and career aspirations.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with trainee nursing associates from across England, UK, in February 2020 (N = 14) and March 2021 (N = 13). Diary data were also collected. Interview and diary data were analysed thematically. Reporting has followed COREQ guidelines.

Results: Nursing associate training was viewed by some as a bridge into registered nursing. Role ambiguity led several to seek perceived security offered by the Registered Nurse profession. Those preferring to remain as nursing associates were keen to embed the bridging role between healthcare assistants and Registered Nurses, valuing a positive workplace culture.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	King, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4012-0202 Taylor, B. Laker, S. Wood, E. Senek, M. Tod, A. Ryan, A. Snowden, S. Robertson, S.
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© 2022 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords:	Education Nursing; Health Workforce; Staffing; United Kingdom; Nursing Associates
Dates:	Published: September 2022 Published (online): 5 June 2022 Accepted: 16 May 2022
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Sheffield
Date Deposited:	26 May 2022 16:02
Last Modified:	27 Feb 2023 11:54
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Wiley Open Access
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1002/nop2.1266
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187004

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

A tale of two bridges: factors influencing career choices of trainee nursing associates in England: a longitudinal qualitative study

Abstract

Metadata

Download

Published Version

Export

Statistics