Reaching for the stars: Iranian nurses’ perceptions of career success

Abstract

Aim: The aim was to explore nurses’ perceptions of career success. Introduction: Career success is a concept which leads to improving professional behaviours. Research that focused on conceptualizing career success found it to be a complex, value-driven construct likely to be perceived differently across work and cultural contexts. It is not yet clear what constitutes career success, and how it is perceived by nurses in Iran. More comprehensive exploration of this concept in nursing is needed, so research and policymaking can advance in informed, data-driven manner. Method: This is a qualitative descriptive study. The setting was teaching hospitals of Iran. Twenty-seven nurses participated in face-to-face interviews, and six field notes were collected. Data were analysed using conventional content analysis. Findings: Analyses identified five themes of career success: providing high-quality care, being exemplary employee, embarking on career growth, having positive personal attributes and being internally satisfied. Conclusion: Findings confirmed that career success in Iranian nurses was a multidimensional concept that represented five internally and externally driven dimensions set within its cultural and religious context. Policymakers and clinical educators can now plan interventions aimed at fostering career success in nursing staff. Implications for education, nursing and health policies: Future nurses could use these finding to reflect on their developed attributes throughout their studies and clinical placements and adjust their career preparation and learning to bridge any identified gaps. Organizational values and intervention for nursing staff could also be redesigned to align with the aspects of career success.