Purpose: To discuss about the effectiveness of counseling for nurses by nurse career counselors. This report consists of the attributes of clients and the results of an evaluation questionnaire that clients answered.
Methods: We offered give out career counseling for nurses since Oct. 2010 at a university-based nursing career support center.
Results: For 34 months, 44 clients used this service a total of 59 times. 93% were female, half of them were 26-35 years old, the number of times to receive counseling per person ranged from once to 6 times. The main purposes of visit were about their career plan, going to a higher level education or studying abroad, or changing workplace or quitting the job. 36% of clients answered the questionnaire. All of them were satisfied with the counseling, and overall reported that it was very good system to receive counseling with a counselor who is familiar with nursing and our hospital but who does not belong to this hospital. Furthermore they answered that they want to receive counseling again.
Conclusion: Through the counseling, all clients were encouraged to take actions to move forward on their career path. It is very important for clients to recognize what they want to do or what they want to be, and to make decisions and take actions by themselves for their career. Empathetic understanding by nurse counselors makes that possible. Thus, career counseling for nurses by nurse counselors has positive effects on nurses’ career development. Additional research is required to make clear the long term effectiveness of counseling.
