Background The global deficit of nurses demands urgent attention in the recruitment and education of this future workforce. Graduate entry nursing (GEN) programmes are one option for people with undergraduate degrees who are seeking nursing education. Determining the key motivations for enrolling in these programmes will support the development of new initiatives in the education sector to both recruit and retain this future workforce and inform future primary research. This scoping review aims to comprehensively describe what motivates graduates to enrol in GEN programmes. Methods Peer reviewed studies of quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method research investigating motivations to commence a graduate entry nursing programme were included, following a pre-determined protocol. Electronic databases searched included Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Emcare, ERIC, Medline and Scopus. Screening, data extraction and analysis was initially in duplicate and independent, then consensus reached. Qualitative and quantitative data was analysed and reported separately then combined thematically as a narrative synthesis in a convergent segregated approach. Reporting followed preferred reporting guidelines for scoping reviews. Results Of the 491 studies retrieved in July 2020, across the five databases and reference list search, six met the inclusion criteria. Four were qualitative studies, one mixed-methods, and one quantitative, respectively from Australia, USA, and New Zealand. Four themes of motivation were identified: 1) finding meaning and purpose through altruism and caring; 2) seeking a satisfying career, 3) looking for a change in direction and, 4) reduced financial burden due to course length and provision of scholarships. Conclusions There is a paucity of studies specifically seeking to investigate student motivations for enrolling in a GEN programme and only limited studies giving insights into motivators for enrolling in a GEN programme, therefore this scoping review contributes new understandings on the reason’s students choose GEN programmes. These are both altruistic and practical and include personal desires to help others, the need to pursue a satisfying and meaningful career and the shorter period out of the workforce offered by an accelerated programme of study.

Introduction While graduate entry nursing programmes are well established in the United Kingdom and the United States of America (USA), they are relatively new to New Zealand and Australia. These programmes have been developed to meet the demands of the health workforce and provide graduates an alternative pathway to becoming a RN. Nursing is viewed as an attractive career option for this growing market of graduate entry students. Objective This study explored the motivations underpinning students choosing a graduate entry MNSc degree over a traditional undergraduate nursing programme. Methods A qualitative, longitudinal single case study design, informed by Yin was used. The first phase of the study is reported here. All students commencing a MNSc degree at the beginning of 2020 across four education providers (3 in New Zealand & 1 in Australia) were eligible to take part in the study. Ten students agreed to take part and undertake an interview. Braun and Clarke’s approach to thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. Results Three key themes of motivation were identified from the data: the attraction of nursing; the clarity nursing offers in terms of career progression; and the design of the intensive programme. Conclusions The motivations to choose a MNSc degree were deeply considered, multifaceted, and influenced by nursing role models. Students wanting to engage with a graduate entry MNSc programme did so through a reflective process of assessing their current career status and future career values. Participants in this study believed nursing would provide a secure and sustainable career path, potentially creating new horizons or possibilities beyond their previous work and life experiences. Having insight into what motivates individuals to enrol in such programmes may assist both education providers and the health sector with RN graduate recruitment and graduate entry programme enrolment.

Collaborative research between nurses employed in the academic and practice sectors is a cost-effective and innovative way to investigate aspects of clinical practice, articulate clinical and teaching expertise, and extend professional practice knowledge. In collaborative ventures, researchers from different institutional cultures often work together to investigate a particular area of interest. This poses challenges in relation to the perceptions, understandings, and interpretations of the research question and of the mode of inquiry, particularly when investigating through the qualitative paradigm. The purpose of this article is twofold. The first is to clarify some of the challenges experienced while conducting collaborative research and describe the steps taken to ensure consistency between the purpose of the research and the phenomenological research design used to explore the learning that nursing students acquire in their final clinical practicum. Second, it was thought that by illuminating this learning, registered nurses working as preceptors and those supporting new graduates could gain insight into the complexities of learning the skills of safe and competent practice from the student's perspective. This insight is essential in creating a strategy between education and practice to minimize the duplication of learning opportunities and lessen the cost of supporting newly registered nurses, which may be at the expense of investment in the professional development of experienced registered nurses.

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