POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION EXPECTATIONS - A SURVEY OF HONG-KONG GRADUATE NURSES

Tertiary education for nurses in Hong Kong is in its early development , With many overseas universities competing to secure Asian students, the need for locally developed programmes to meet Hong Kong's needs ca n be overlooked, In this survey 705 nurses with degree level qualifica tions working for the major public and private employing agencies comp leted a questionnaire designed to obtain details of postgraduate study plans and preferences for the type, focus and mode of postgraduate pr ogrammes, Analysis of responses showed 50% of the graduates surveyed i ntended to pursue further study in the next two years with a clear pre ference for course work masters, degree programmes (55%), studies with a specialist (71%) rather than a generalist focus, and programmes off ered locally (85%) on a part-time basis (86%), Future educational need s were also found to vary according to gender, marital status, place o f employment and nursing post. The findings from this survey have cons iderable implications for educational and professional nursing develop ments and planning to meet the future health care needs of Hong Kong. In addition, the information may inform the planning of other countrie s newly embarked on tertiary education for nurses.