The application of London's Interactive Model of Career Motivation to the professional career nurse

Date of Completion

January 1992

Keywords

Business Administration, Management|Health Sciences, Nursing|Psychology, Industrial

Degree

Ph.D.

Abstract

This study explored the appropriateness of applying London's Interactive Model of Career Motivation to the professional career nurse. Nurses employed in a large urban hospital were studied in order to examine the relationship between London's career motivation domains and situational variables relevant to the career development of nurses. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to confirm or deny the three-factor model proposed by London by subjecting an observed data structure to the hypothesized structure. When the data could not be supported by Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis procedures were employed to identify the factor structure of the observed data.^ The results of the study suggest that the three domains identified by London--career identity, career insight, and career resilience--may not adequately measure career motivation as experienced by large sectors of the population. A fourth factor, the desire for recognition, was found to account for a large portion of the common variance.^ The study also examined correlates of career motivation and found full-time nurses to have higher overall levels of career motivation than part-time nurses, and older nurses to have higher levels of career motivation, in general, than younger nurses. Contrary to what was hypothesized, career interruptions were not found to have a negative effect on career motivation. The study suggests that demographic and profession-specific variables may play an important role as it relates to the presence of situational characteristics. ^

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