Table 2.

Characteristics of included studies

Reference	Study aim	Country	Specialty	Study design	Methods	Population	Time of approaching participants
Barnhill et al. [49]	Investigate impact on clinical practice	New Zealand	Nursing	Quantitative: descriptive	Postal survey	Registered nurses (n = 27) / Senior nurses (manager & educator) (n = 23) / RR = 47.7%	One year after
Baron et al. [35]	Investigate effects on career development	UK	General Practice	Quantitative: Descriptive	Questionnaire with open ended questions	GP graduates from 1997 to 2003 / A total of 150 questionnaires were sent out and 81 were returned (RR = 54%) / Total population is not stated	Between 2 and 6 years
Bearn and Chadwick [37]	Evaluate students’ experiences	UK	Orthodontic	Qualitative	Focus groups and semi-structured interviews	12 postgraduate students / First cohort of the programme	Directly after
Calvert and Britten [33] Calvert and Britten [34]	Exploring outcomes on professional and personal development	UK	General Practice	Qualitative	Free writing feedback	71 of 76 graduates from the first 9 cohorts (RR = 93%)	Unclear
Chaboyer and Retsas [38]	Evaluate programme outcomes	Australia	Nursing	Mixed: concurrent	Questionnaires consisted of open- and closed-ended questions	44 graduates out of 50 (88%) in 1st survey 37 graduates in second survey (77%) of the 1994 cohort Stakeholder	Directly after
Conneeley [39]	Evaluate students’ experiences, perceived benefits and impact on career.	UK	Occupational Therapy	Qualitative: Phenomenology	Focus group	Six students: 4 OT and 2 PT [total programme cohort]	Directly after
Constantine and Carpenter [36]	Explore practitioners’ development	UK	Physiotherapy	Qualitative: Phenomenology	Semi-structured phone interview	7 out of 35 invited alumni Total population is not stated – graduates from other programmes have been included	Unclear
Cragg and Andrusyszyn [63] Cragg and Andrusyszyn [59]	Identify perceived changes at personal, practice, and attitudinal levels	Canada	Nursing	Qualitative: descriptive	Semi-structured Face-to-face or telephone interviews	22 graduates who completed programs from 2000 to 2003 Total population: not stated	Directly after
Drennan [54]	Evaluate career and academic development	Ireland	Nursing	Quantitative: descriptive	Cross-sectional postal survey	220 out of 322 approached graduated between 2000 and 2005 (RR = 68%)	between 2 and 6 years
Drennan [48]	Measure critical thinking ability	Ireland	Nursing	Quantitative: cross sectional analytic	Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal tool administered to two groups	Two cohorts: 83 of 110 students (75%) commencing MSc in Nursing programmes. & 140 of 222 students (63%) who had a MSc degree in Nursing between 2003 and 2007	Unclear
Drennan [56]	Evaluate graduates’ ability to change practice	Ireland	Nursing	Quantitative: cross-sectional survey	Retrospective pre-test design	140 of 222 students (63%) who had a MSc degree in Nursing	Directly after
Gerstel et al. [63]	Evaluate graduates’ competencies and career development	International	Public Health	Quantitative:	Online survey	177 of 327 invited alumni (RR = 54%)	between 2 and 6 years
Green et al. [6]	Identify the influence on career development	UK	Physiotherapy	Quantitative: descriptive Qualitative: descriptive	Postal survey & Focus group	Graduates from the MSc MSK PT programmes from 1994 to 2005 48 of 77 (RR = 62.3%)	Unclear
Perry et al. [41]	Explore impact on professional and personal development	UK	Physiotherapy	Qualitative: atheoretical pragmatic utilised within an interpretivist paradigm	Focus group	Seven graduates out of 11 agreed to take part. Pooled form respondent of Green et al. (2008)	Unclear
Le et al. [62]	Explore the relevance and impact on work	Vietnam	Public Health	Quantitative: descriptive Qualitative: descriptive	Postal survey Interviews	148 graduates out of the total of 187 (RR = 79.1%)	Unclear
LeCount [51]	Describe programme, inception, implementation, and outcomes.	USA	Nursing Geriatrics	Quantitative: descriptive	Postal survey	16 of 20 contacted (RR = 80%) / Total population: 30 graduates	Directly after
Murray et al. [61]	Analyse graduates’ satisfaction and explore the perceived impact.	USA	Interdisciplinary	Quantitative: descriptive	Postal questionnaire	53 of 85 graduates contacted / (RR = 62%) Total population: 96 graduates between 1982 and 1998 / 29 of 37 contacted employers (RR = 78%)	Unclear
Nicolson et al. [42]	Identify educational and working experiences	UK	Nursing	Mixed Methods: Sequential	Focus group that informed the Postal questionnaire & Semi-structured telephone interviews	Five cohorts of graduates Programme team nursing and medical staff at one NICU 37 questionnaires (RR = 71.2%)	Unclear
Pelletier et al. [55]	Investigate effects on practice and career	Australia	Nursing	Quantitative: descriptive	Postal questionnaire	40 of 55 from 1991 cohort. RR = 72% Total population: not clear	Directly after
Pelletier et al. [52]	Investigate the impact on patient care	Australia	Nursing	Quantitative: descriptive	Postal questionnaire	236 from Pelletier et al., (1998) / retention rate of 58% / Five cohorts	Between 2 and 6 years
Pelletier et al. [66]	Report motivators and barriers to career change	Australia	Nursing	Quantitative: Longitudinal descriptive and co-relational	Postal questionnaire	151 of 236 in Pelletier et al., (2003)	Between 7 and 10 years
Petty et al. [40] Petty et al. [58]	Describe impact clinical practice Develop an explanatory theory of the learning transition	UK	Physiotherapy	Qualitative: grounded theory. Theory-seeking case study	Semi-structured interviews	11 alumni agreed of 35 purposefully selected	Between 2 and 6 years
Spence [45] Spence [46]	Evaluate the clinical impact	New Zealand	Nursing	Qualitative: descriptive	Loose-structured interviews	12 graduates of a clinically focused programme. 8 co-worker and/or employer	Unclear
Spencer [43]	Examine impact on professional practice	UK	Nursing midwives and health visitors	Qualitative: Phenomenology	Semi-structured interviews	12 qualified nurses, midwives and health visitors since its inception in 1998	Unclear
Stark [60]	Investigate differences in role choices, role flexibility, and practice settings	USA	Nursing	Quantitative: cross-sectional, comparative study	Postal survey: self-report Role Choices, Role Flexibility, and Practice Settings Survey	406 of 1086 potential (RR = 37.4%) Final completed questionnaires: 285 Power analysis: 165 required	Unclear
Stathopoulos and Harrison [44]	Explore impact on professional practice	UK	Physiotherapy	Qualitative: Phenomenology	Focus group	5 of 7 graduates agreed to participate. Working in clinical setting	Between 2 and 6 years
Tsimtsiou et al. [50]	Assess benefits on professional and career development	UK	General Practice	Mixed	Postal questionnaire that include free writing	Graduates from 1997 until 2008 50 of 66 (RR = 76%)	Unclear
Whyte et al. [47]	Evaluate the professional relevance and the personal and career growth	UK	Nursing	Quantitative: descriptive	A self-administered questionnaire	Graduates from 1991 to 1994 109 of 190 posted questionnaire (RR = 57%)	Unclear
Wildman et al. [53]	Evaluate the effect on clinical practice.	UK	Nursing	Mixed	Postal questionnaire	The first seven cohorts of the programme (n:169) (RR = 66.8% (113))	Unclear
Zahran [65]	Explore motivational factors and explore perceived impact on practice	Jordan	Nursing	Qualitative: Ethnography	Semi-structured interviews	44 M-Level qualified nurses nurse educationalists clinical nurse supervisors	Unclear
Zwanikken et al. [57]	Examine the influence on performance at the workplace, and professional contribution to society	International	Public Health	Quantitative: descriptive	Self-administered questionnaire	n = 445 RR = 37.5%	Unclear

RR Response Rate, GP General Practitioner, OT Occupational Therapist, PT Physiotherapist or Physical Therapy, NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit