title: Getting started: choice and constraint in obtaining a post after qualifying as a registered mental nurse.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the extent to which obtaining a post after qualifying as a registered mental nurse (RMN) is a matter of exercising choice or experiencing constraints.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The paper is drawn from the first phase of a longitudinal study of the careers of RMNs, commissioned in response to concerns about attrition from the mental health nursing workforce.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires were sent to all RMNs (n = 550) qualifying from 3-year and post-registration courses in four regional health authorities; 80% (447) responded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Some 73% had obtained a National Health Service (NHS) psychiatric nursing post shortly after qualifying; 95% had hoped to do so. Of those with a post, 71% had obtained their first choice of client group. A wide range of professional and personal constraints emerged as affecting job choice; lack of NHS posts in preferred location and/or speciality was cited most often.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Support and guidance may be helpful for nurses experiencing delays in obtaining a post, or who are starting careers in a post which is not their first choice.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Research Unit, King's College London, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murrells
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D000078329:Workforce