More registered nurses advance their careers through education
A desire to advance nursing skills and knowledge is driving registered nurses to further their careers through education, according to Agnes Tiwari, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong's (HKU) department of nursing studies, and programme director for its master of nursing course.
'Since starting the master's programme in 1999, we have found that there are more registered nurses applying for it and wanting to study further,' Professor Tiwari said. 'Improving their knowledge, particularly in research and in the theory of nursing, helps them to advance their careers.'
Student enrolment for the master's programme has remained constant - between 25 and 30 each year - which Professor Tiwari said was remarkable given reports of short-staffing in hospitals and a lack of time to study.
'I think that nurses have realised the need to keep improving their knowledge and qualifications in order to advance their careers,' she said. 'In that respect I think we are following world trends.'
The HKU's master's programme is a generic nursing qualification and has four streams - advanced practice, health policy development planning, public health and paediatric nursing. Students in the part-time two-year programme study 10 taught courses and write a dissertation.