Decision Making Styles and Continuing Education 

At different times in their careers, nurses may seek the help0 of nurse managers or educators within staff development units and polytechnics, to help them in making career decisions.  While nursing literature offers advice to nurses in planning their careers (e.g. McBride 1985; Meola, 1988; Rothrock, 1986), little has been written to assist nurse managers and educators in their important “career guidance” role.  Guidance counsellors outside of nursing have a range of theoretical perspectives to choose from when constructing their approach to guidance, for example trait and factor, developmental, personality, social learning and work adjustment theories (Osipow, 1983).  These may be useful to nurse managers and educators.  There is little information though, even in vocational guidance literature, regarding the decision-making process itself.