'Worth ... the Nightmares'? A Qualitative Study of Early‐Career Healthcare Workers' Wellbeing and Career Decisions After Starting Work During Covid‐19.
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| Title: | 'Worth ... the Nightmares'? A Qualitative Study of Early‐Career Healthcare Workers' Wellbeing and Career Decisions After Starting Work During Covid‐19. |
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| Authors: | Brown, Megan E. L.1 (AUTHOR) megan.brown@newcastle.ac.uk, Burford, Bryan1 (AUTHOR), Price, Christopher2 (AUTHOR), Fu, Yu3 (AUTHOR), Vance, Gillian1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Clinical Teacher. Aug2025, Vol. 22 Issue 4, p1-8. 8p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Education policy, *Vocational guidance, COVID-19, Well-being, Nurses, Work environment, Medical personnel, Emergency medical technicians |
| Abstract: | Background: The Covid‐19 pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems, education and individual professionals—notably, newly qualified front line nurses and paramedics. While we know wellbeing was negatively affected, qualitative exploration of workplace experiences and how these impact wellbeing and shape career decision making is lacking. This is a critical gap in the literature, given the current healthcare workforce crisis and a need for evidence‐based educational reform to better support learners in the workplace. This study explores the experiences of nurses and paramedics during the pandemic and how these influenced wellbeing and career decision‐making. Methods: We adopted an interpretivist, qualitative approach, and conducted semi‐structured interviews with seven newly qualified nurses and two senior paramedics. We utilised reflexive thematic analysis to explore and analyse data, considering the impact of starting work during Covid‐19. Findings: Our findings demonstrated the significant impact of the pandemic on wellbeing and career decision‐making. Key issues included a turbulent transition into practice, shaped by increased clinical pressures (including high patient numbers, and workforce shortages) and reduced support at organisational and interpersonal levels. Participants described a shift in career values, with greater emphasis on wellbeing as a determinant for job decisions. Many reported re‐evaluating their careers, prioritising roles or teams that offered better support and manageable workloads, or considering leaving healthcare altogether. Conclusion: This study suggests a need for educational policy and practice to consider how workplace experience impacts wellbeing and career decision‐making. Beyond indicating the need for further research, this study acts as a critical conversation regarding future workforce planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Clinical Teacher is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 186772812 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: 'Worth ... the Nightmares'? A Qualitative Study of Early‐Career Healthcare Workers' Wellbeing and Career Decisions After Starting Work During Covid‐19. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brown%2C+Megan E%2E L%2E%22">Brown, Megan E. L.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> megan.brown@newcastle.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burford%2C+Bryan%22">Burford, Bryan</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Price%2C+Christopher%22">Price, Christopher</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fu%2C+Yu%22">Fu, Yu</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vance%2C+Gillian%22">Vance, Gillian</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Clinical+Teacher%22">Clinical Teacher</searchLink>. Aug2025, Vol. 22 Issue 4, p1-8. 8p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+policy%22">Education policy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocational+guidance%22">Vocational guidance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19%22">COVID-19</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well-being%22">Well-being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nurses%22">Nurses</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Work+environment%22">Work environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+personnel%22">Medical personnel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emergency+medical+technicians%22">Emergency medical technicians</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Background: The Covid‐19 pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems, education and individual professionals—notably, newly qualified front line nurses and paramedics. While we know wellbeing was negatively affected, qualitative exploration of workplace experiences and how these impact wellbeing and shape career decision making is lacking. This is a critical gap in the literature, given the current healthcare workforce crisis and a need for evidence‐based educational reform to better support learners in the workplace. This study explores the experiences of nurses and paramedics during the pandemic and how these influenced wellbeing and career decision‐making. Methods: We adopted an interpretivist, qualitative approach, and conducted semi‐structured interviews with seven newly qualified nurses and two senior paramedics. We utilised reflexive thematic analysis to explore and analyse data, considering the impact of starting work during Covid‐19. Findings: Our findings demonstrated the significant impact of the pandemic on wellbeing and career decision‐making. Key issues included a turbulent transition into practice, shaped by increased clinical pressures (including high patient numbers, and workforce shortages) and reduced support at organisational and interpersonal levels. Participants described a shift in career values, with greater emphasis on wellbeing as a determinant for job decisions. Many reported re‐evaluating their careers, prioritising roles or teams that offered better support and manageable workloads, or considering leaving healthcare altogether. Conclusion: This study suggests a need for educational policy and practice to consider how workplace experience impacts wellbeing and career decision‐making. Beyond indicating the need for further research, this study acts as a critical conversation regarding future workforce planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Clinical Teacher is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/tct.70120 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 8 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Education policy Type: general – SubjectFull: Vocational guidance Type: general – SubjectFull: COVID-19 Type: general – SubjectFull: Well-being Type: general – SubjectFull: Nurses Type: general – SubjectFull: Work environment Type: general – SubjectFull: Medical personnel Type: general – SubjectFull: Emergency medical technicians Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: 'Worth ... the Nightmares'? A Qualitative Study of Early‐Career Healthcare Workers' Wellbeing and Career Decisions After Starting Work During Covid‐19. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Brown, Megan E. L. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Burford, Bryan – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Price, Christopher – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fu, Yu – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Vance, Gillian IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 08 Text: Aug2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 17434971 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 22 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: Clinical Teacher Type: main |
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