Integrating Outcome and Self-Efficacy Expectations that Influence Career Decisions in Mental Health Nursing: A Quality Improvement Project

There is a shortage of mental health nurses with a rise in mental health illnesses worldwide. To provide adequate mental health care of the increasing population suffering from mental illness, more mental health nurses must be recruited and trained. This study assessed nurse outcome and self-efficacy expectations that influence career decisions in mental health nursing or other nursing specialty by using the Social Cognitive Career Theory. Identifying outcome expectations and self-efficacy being possible reasons that nurses do not select a career in mental health nursing, researchers may discover recommendations to address and improve the nursing shortage in this specialty. There were two populations surveyed, non-mental health nurses at the University of Utah Hospital and nurses currently working in the mental health specialty at Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute. The number of participants consisted of 100 participants; 58 non-mental health nurses and 42 mental health nurses. The instruments used were the Vocational Outcome Expectation Revised (VOE-R) Scale and the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Short Form (CDSE-SF) Scale. There is no difference between non-mental health nurses and mental health nurses regarding vocational outcome expectations (domain one t(97) = -0.25, p<.05), domain two self-evaluation/satisfaction t(97) = -0.05, p<.05, Physical t(97) = 0.36, p<.05, and Social t(97) = -1.44, p<.05). There is no difference between non-mental health nurses and mental health nurses regarding self-efficacy expectations (self-appraisal t(98) = 0.47, p<.05), occupational information t(98) = 1.89, p<.05), goal selection t(98) = 0.24, p<.05), planning t(98) = 0.94, p<.05), and problem solving t(98) = -0.15, p<.05). Results suggest that internal consistency and reliability of the VOE-R Scale, domain two of social outcome expectations ranked poor (Cronbach's alpha = 0.57) and self-evaluation/satisfaction ranked questionable (Cronbach's alpha = 0.68). The results of this project propose that similarities exist between mental health nurses and non-mental health nurses in their vocational outcome expectations and self-efficacy expectations, which indicate that other areas need to be explored to identify reasons which influence career decisions to improve the shortage of mental health nurses.