Abstract:

Introduction: In 2002 at Charles Sturt University (CSU) a regional Australian university, two innovative cross professional 4 year joint degree (JD) programs were commenced to encourage more school leavers into undergraduate nursing programs. In Australia, undergraduate nursing funded places in Universities expanded from 2002 to 2008 to address nursing shortages. The undergraduate JDs comprise a Bachelor of Nursing and a Bachelor of Early Childhood Teaching (birth to 5 years); and a Bachelor of Nursing and a Bachelor of Clinical Practice (paramedics).

The main aim of this presentation is to profile research on JD nursing students’ experiences and their career and location preferences. It will identify the characteristics of the JD students and expose the reasons why they chose this cross professional JD and the factors that influenced their career preferences towards or away from nursing on commencement, during and on completion of their JD program then two years post graduate. An additional aim is to highlight the challenges faced by academics involved in teaching in these JD programs and the possible impact of JDs on nursing workforce numbers in the future.

Methods: A mixed methods approach encompassing a cross sectional and a longitudinal cohort study gathered information via a semi structured questionnaire from single (77) and JD (132) undergraduates and post graduate JD (26) nursing students in 2008/9. Additionally, 46 indepth interviews were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the university experiences and career decision making of JD students. Academics from the Schools involved in the JD programs were also interviewed. Data was analysed using SPSS and NVivo.

Results:
The study revealed that school leavers are drawn to JD’s in nursing and beginning and completing JD students’ preferences for nursing as a career were less than 50%. The reasons why JD students’ career preferences change towards or away from nursing during their undergraduate 4 year program or post graduate years are multi factorial and these factors such as the influence of practicum experiences will be presented.

Discussion:
Joint degrees in nursing are more popular in comparison to joint degrees in other disciplines in Australia and they create career choices for students. However, if large numbers of JD students do not choose a nursing career then this is a concerning trend for the Australian nursing profession as they occupy hundreds of undergraduate nursing funded places. The impact of these JDs on the students themselves, the Schools of nursing where they are taught, and the future numbers of qualified nurses creates challenges that need to be addressed by the higher education sector and the healthcare sector.

Keywords:

Joint degrees, nursing, undergraduate students.