Does undertaking nursing training in a partnership program buffer transition shock in new graduate nurses? A cohort study.

Abstract

Background In 2005, Epworth HealthCare in partnership with Deakin University, developed a collaborative model of clinical education for nursing students that combines the delivery of theoretical education and clinical placements at the one health service. The Collaborative Clinical Education Epworth Deakin (CCEED) model of clinical education has been implemented for 13 years. It has been reported that new graduates experience a degree of ‘transition shock’ when moving from undergraduate clinical program into independent practice. Aims The key aims of this research project were to evaluate whether nurses who completed their undergraduate education through the CCEED program, experienced lower levels ‘transition shock’ than graduate nurses from other education programs. Methods A prospective repeated measures comparative design was used. Work Readiness was measured using the validated Work Readiness Scale (WRS). Participants’ self-reported work readiness was compared between completion of their nursing degree and three months after commencing their graduate year using paired T-Tests. Differences between groups in the magnitude of change in each of the WRS subscales are described. Results The sample included 75 graduate nurses recruited in November-December 2015 and 24 clinical mentors recruited in 2016; 22(29%) nurses had completed CCEED and 53(71%) were students from other programs. After commencing their graduate year, participants’ perceptions of their ‘work competence’ decreased and there was a significant decrease in the WRS score for non-CCEED graduates relating to ‘personal work characteristics’ (p=.030). Conclusion CCEED graduates experienced the transition from undergraduate student to graduate nurse relatively smoothly and were less likely to experience ‘transition shock’.