Study of Job Future of Semnan Nursing School Graduates

Introduction. One of the main missions of universities is to train skillful manpower for the society. The higher education institutions try to find out what their graduates will face in the society and if they have a chance to use their specialty. This research was performed to determine the job future of the graduates in Semnan. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, all nursing graduates (B.S.) who had been graduated during 1992-1999 were studied (N=174). 93 persons participated in the survey by completing a questionnaire containing 10 questions. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. Frequency distribution, standard deviation and the mean of all questions were calculated and also Chi2 test was used. Results. 60.22% of the participants were female. 30.12% of them were hired as permanent employees. Most of them worked at the hospitals and 43.1% were employed in non-nursing positions. Only 17.2% were employed within less than 6 months and the rest were unemployed in a period of 6 months to 3 years after graduation. Also, 17.2% were unemployed at the time of this study. Most of them (60.21%) had not entered postgraduate studies and 2.61% had continued their studies for non-nursing majors. 6.45% had changed their major of study and also their jobs. 80.64% of the participants did not have any contacts with their schools. And only 17.2% were employed in hospitals affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences. Chi2 – test showed a significant relationship between gender and the period of unemployment. Conclusion. The results revealed the long period of unemployment of nursing graduates, the undetermined hiring situation and employment in fields other than nursing. It is recommended to consider society's needs and students' interests at the time of admission to the university and take some measures concerning employment problems.