The careers of those qualifying from diploma courses are of considerable interest, given the substantial professional and financial investment made in the Project 2000 strategy. This paper is concerned with a longitudinal study of the careers of a nationally drawn cohort of diplomates qualifying from the adult, child, mental health and learning disability branches in 1997/98. Reasons for choosing a longitudinal design are described, together with the problems it presents and the strategies developed to tackle these in the course of the project to date. The paper then turns to the ways in which the aims of the project are being pursued in the context of two linked questionnaires: the first sent to the cohort at qualification and the second six months later. The importance of pilot work is discussed throughout the paper.
Cartwright, A. (1983) Health Surveys in Practice and in Potential: A critical review of their scope andmethods. London: King Edward's Hospital Fund for London.
2.
Chickerella, B.G., Lutz, WJ (1981) Professional nurturance: preceptorships for undergraduate nursing. American Journal of Nursing81:1, 101-109.
3.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. (1980) Research Methods in Education. London: Croom Helm.
4.
Davies, R.B. (1987) The limitations of cross-sectional analysis. In: Crouchley, R. (ed). Longitudinal Data Analysis: Surrey conferences on sociological theory and method 4. Avebury. Hants: Gower Publishing Group.
5.
Department of Health (1995) Career Pathways: Nursing, midwifery and health visiting. London: Department of Health.
6.
Douglas, J.W., Blomfield, J.M. (1973) The reliability of longitudinal surveys. In: McKinly, J.B. (ed). Research Methods in Health Care. A selection of articles from the Milbank Fund QuarterlyNew York: Prodist.
7.
Elkan, R., Robinson, J. (1991) The Implementation of Project 2000 in a District Health Authority: The effect on the nursing service. Nottingham : . Department of Nursing Studies, University of Nottingham .
8.
Goldstein, H. (1979) The Design and Analysis of Longitudinal Studies: Their role in the measurement of change. London: Academic Press.
9.
Hoinville, G., Jowell, R.A. (1978) Survey Research Practice. London : Heinemann Educational Books.
10.
Jasper, M. (1996) The first year as a staff nurse: The experiences of a first cohort of Project 2000 nurses in a demonstration district. Journal of Advanced Nursing24:779-790.
11.
Jowett, S. (1995) Project 2000 in Practice-a follow-up studyof people from some of the first intakes of the diploma in nursing course. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research .
12.
Jowett S., Walton, I., Payne, S. (1994) Challenges and Change in Nurse Education: A study of the implementation of Project 2000. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research in England and Wales.
13.
Liverpool and Warwick Universities (1996) Project 2000. Fitness for purpose. Liverpool and Warwick: The University of Liverpool, The University of Warwick.
14.
MacKay, L. (1989) Nursing a Problem. Milton Keynes : Open University Press.
15.
Macleod Clark, J., Maben, J., Jones, K. (1996) Project 2000: Perceptions of the philosophy and practice of nursing. London: English National Board.
16.
Marsland, L., Robinson, S., Murrells, T. (1996) How new nurses manage work and family responsibilities . Nursing Times92:24,44-46.
17.
Marsland, L., Robinson, S., Hayward, J. et al. (1993) Career guidance during nurse training: Findings from an exploratory study. Journal ofAdvanced Nursing18: 2, 321-333.
18.
Menard, S. (1991) Longitudinal Research. London : Sage Publications.
19.
Price Waterhouse (1988) Nurse Retention and Recruitment: A matter of priority . Bristol: Price Waterhouse.
20.
Reid, N.G. (1986) Nurse manpower: The problems ahead. International Journal of Nursing Studies23:3,187-197.
21.
Robinson, S., Owen, H. (1994) Retention in midwifery: Findings from a longitudinal study of midwives' careers. In: Robinson, S., Thomson, A. (eds). Midwives, Research and Childbirth Vol. 3. London: Chapman and Hall.
22.
Robinson, S., Marsland, L. (1994) Approaches to the problem of respondent attrition in a longitudinal panel study of nurses' ca reers. Joumal ofAdvanced Nursing20:4,729-741.
23.
Robinson, S., Marsland, L., Murrells, T. (1995) Career Pathways: A study of the careers of registered general nurses. Report toDepartment of Health No.1. Research design, cohortprofile andplansat qualification. London: Nursing Research Unit, King's College.
24.
Robinson, S., Kipping, C., Hickey, G. et al. (1996) Getting Started. Phase 1 of a study of psychiatric nurses'careers. London: Nursing Research Unit, King's College, London University.
25.
Rose, D., Buck, N., Corti, L. (1991) Design Issuesin the British Household Panel Study: Working papers of E5RC Research Centre on micro-social change. Paper2Colchester: University of Essex.
26.
Ukcc (1986) Project 2000: A newprepara tion for practice. London: UKCC .
27.
U. Kcc ( 1987) Project 2000: The finalproposals. London: UKCC.
28.
Ukcc (1993) Registrars tetter. The Council's position concerning a periodofsupport and preceptorship: Implementation of the Post-registration Education andpractice Project ProposalsJanuary4. London: UKCC.
29.
Uncles, M.D. (1988) Issues in longitudinal data analysis. ln: Uncles, M. (ed). Longitudinal Data Analysis: Methods and applicationsLondon: Pion/Methuen.
30.
Waterton, J., Lievesley, D. (1988) Attrition in a pa nel study of attitudes. Journal of Official Statistics3: 3, 267-282.
31.
White, E., Riley, E., Davies, S. et al. (1994) A Detailed Study of the Relationship Between Teaching, Support Supervision and Role Modelling in Clinical Areas, within the Context of Project 2000 Courses. London: English National Board.
