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V. SPECIALISATION

Since the shortage of nurses is particularly serious in some branches of nursing, student nurses were asked whether they would like to specialise in each of six branches of nursing when their training was completed. The proportion of nurses saying they would like to is shown in Table 25 below:

A few of the nurses said they would like to specialise in more than one type of nursing. It should be noted that the question asked what they would like to do and not what they intended to do. It is possible that the idea of specialising might not occur to nurses unless they were particularly asked to do so, and so the percentages saying they would like to specialise in the various branches when asked should not be taken as an indication of the proportions likely to do so.

Of the types of nursing specified, midwifery was the most popular, more than a third of the student nurses saying they would like to specialise in this branch.

District nursing is next in popularity, and 24% said they would like to do this.

19% wanted to do children’s nursing, and 14% wanted to specialise in fever nursing. Relatively small proportions said they wanted to specialise in tuberculosis and mental nursing.

Nurses who said they would like to specialise in any of these branches of nursing were asked why they would like to. The results are not particularly illuminating since in the majority of cases nurses said they were “interested in” the branch of nursing concerned and would prefer it to general nursing. Specific attractions of the different sorts of nursing are mentioned by only a few.

Reasons for not wanting to specialise in the various types of nursing are of rather more interest. Reasons for not wanting to specialise were not given in every case as the idea of specialising had not previously occurred to nurses and although they said they did not want to they had not formulated any particular objections. Included in this group are nurses who said they were not interested in the branch of nursing concerned or that it did not appeal to them. Such answers are not in fact reasons, but merely a repetition of the statement that they did not want to specialise.

16% of those who did not want to specialise (13% of the whole sample) said they would like to do a course in fever nursing and get a Fever Certificate, but would not want to go on with it.

27% of those who did not want to specialise (17% of whole sample) said they would like to take a course of training in midwifery.

Lack of variety is an objection put forward to specialising in four of the six branches concerned. This objection is not, however, raised in the case of mental or district nursing.

That too much patience is needed is given as a reason for not wanting to specialise in children’s nursing (17% whole sample) and mental nursing (9% whole sample).

8% of the sample mention fear of infection in the case of tuberculosis nursing, and a further 2% give the similar reason that their health is not good enough or that there is T.B. in the family. Only 1% of the sample mention fear of infection as an objection to specialising in fever nursing.

Nervous strain and the fear of “going mental” is the most considerable objection to mental nursing and is mentioned by 17% of the sample. Thus a fear of the nurse becoming the patient is more important in the case of mental nursing than of tuberculosis or fever nursing.

The main reason for not wanting to specialise in district nursing is that nursing in hospital is preferred.

Student nurses were asked whether they would like to specialise in any other particular type of nursing apart from those already mentioned, A variety of types were mentioned, but more than half the nurses said they would like to be in the operating theatre or specialise in surgical work.

It will be seen from these and the previous results that most student nurses think they would like to specialise after completing their training. Many of then mentioned two or more different branches which they would like to take up.

Surgical work is desired more than anything else, and next in popularity is midwifery (37%)• District nursing and children's nursing are also popular with a fair proportion.