Lost in transition-Newly qualified registered nurses and their transition to practice journey in the first six months: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Background and objective: Poor transition to practice during the first year of graduate nurses' employment causes compromised patient care and a high staff turnover. Globally, as the world grapples with an ageing population and increasing healthcare demands, it is imperative to retain newly qualified Registered Nurses to sustain the nursing workforce. Objectives: To explore newly qualified Registered Nurses on their transition to practice journey during their first six months of employment.Methods: Design: A qualitative descriptive design. Settings: A large metropolitan public hospital in Singapore. Participants: A purposive sample of eleven newly qualified Registered Nurses with six months of graduate working experience. Methods: One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was employed in this study.Results: Three themes emerged from the data analysis: personal adaptations, professional adaptations and organisational adaptations. Subthemes of personal adaptations include a new experience, seeking help and coping with transition. Under professional adaptations, the subthemes are accountability, coordination, interprofessional relationships and knowledge. Subthemes of organisational adaptations are staff support, working environment and transition to practice programme.Conclusions: The findings emphasized the importance of establishing responsibilities, performance expectations and appropriate workplace behaviors guidelines, and to bridge the gap between transition to practice programme and preceptorship is also necessary.