Strategies in the Promotion of Nursing as a Career among Second Level Students: An Irish Perspective

The world is currently experiencing one of the worst nursing shortages in the last 50 years. The reasons are multi-faceted, however one factor is a lack of structured collaborative, promotional initiatives among career guidance counsellors (CGCs), universities and established health professionals. In order to enhance recruitment emphasis must be placed on developing innovative promotional initiatives, materials and events which accurately portray the role and function of the nurse in the 21st century. The aim of this study is to identify second level CGCs preferred strategies for the facilitation of accurate and current information on nursing as a career option. The results suggest that CGCs very frequently engage with students and their parents regarding nursing as a career and emphasise the need for increased collaboration between health care professionals and CGCs in the promotion of nursing as a career.