Career Development in Nursing: Identifying the Career Anchors of Nurses at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Background: Nurses are the largest providers of care services in the health care system who play an important role in the community health by providing health care. Therefore, maintaining and developing them is an integral part of human resource management in the health system. Considering that one of the tools for career development is determining job anchors, this study was conducted in 2020 to identify the career anchors of nurses from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in order to develop their career path. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 268 nurses working in hospitals and educational centers of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences who were selected by convenience sampling. Data were collected using the standard Schein questionnaire and analyzed by independent t-test and ANOVA in SPSS 23 software. Results: Among career anchors, service and dedication (24.74 ± 1.72) had the highest, and managerial competence (16.35 ± 2.32) had the lowest mean score. Furthermore, the average entrepreneurial creativity in women was significantly higher than men (p = 0.04). And in men, the average of pure challenges was significantly higher than women (p = 0.04). In addition, people with undergraduate degree showed a greater tendency to technical/functional competence (p = 0.02). Clinical nurses were more likely to become managers (p = 0.04), and corporate nurses were more inclined to have a lifestyle anchor (p = 0.04). Conclusion: Regarding service and dedication anchor, which had the highest average score among the interviewed nurses, individuals are motivated by pursuing valuable goals and meeting the needs of others. Whilest managerial competencies were not the priority of the studied nurses. Therefore, the opportunity for promotion in nurses is not just focused on reaching a managerial position. Therefore, it is suggested that the management of human resources in university define the career path of people based on their anchors and specific interests to people in terms of mental and mental health for creating a favorable atmosphere and better performance.