Confidence, interest and intentions of final-year nursing students regarding employment in general practice

Background: Rising health care burden has increased demand for general practice nurses. Exploring final -year nursing students' perceived levels of confidence, interest and intention to work in this area can inform preparation and recruitment of new graduates into this workforce. Aim: To explore final-year nursing students' confidence, interest and intention to work in general prac-tice. Methods: Final-year nursing students from five universities situated in New South Wales, Australia were surveyed between March and June 2019. The survey comprised investigator-developed questions and val-idated tools adapted for use in general practice. Findings: Of the 355 included responses, 34.1% respondents had a clinical placement in general practice. Work experience was a significant predictor of confidence in working as a Registered or General Practice Nurse. Being enrolled as an international student, general practice placement experience and high con-fidence to work in general practice were significant predictors of interest and intention to work in this setting. Analysis showed a strong positive relationship between interest and intention to work in gen-eral practice, and a small but positive relationship between confidence and intention to work in general practice. Discussion: Despite generally positive views around their confidence, interest and intention to work in general practice, some respondents indicated uncertainties around these, and the usefulness of their un-dergraduate preparation towards PHC employment. This may be attributable to the inconsistent exposure to general practice nursing within Australian undergraduate nursing programs. Conclusion: Increasing students' theoretical and clinical exposure to general practice enhances confidence and interest to pursue a career in this setting. (c) 2021 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.