An analysis of the factors affecting the transition period to professional roles for newly graduated nurses in Turkey

Background For the majority of newly graduated nurses, the transition to professional roles in their lives may be stressful. Common reasons for this include feelings of insufficiency with regard to clinical skills, fears of making mistakes, increased responsibilities and insufficient guidance. Aim To identify the factors affecting the transition period of newly graduated nurses. Methods This study was designed and carried out as a descriptive and a cross‐sectional study of three cohorts of newly graduated students. The study was implemented at a military education and research hospital in Ankara, Turkey. The population consisted of 234 (89%) of newly graduated nurses. For evaluating data, the SPSS 15.0 program was used. The paired samples t‐test and the Mann–Whitney U‐test were employed to compare the participants’ perceptions about the transition period based on certain variables. Results It is found that 54.7% of nurses surveyed have the intent to quit the profession. More than half of the participants stated that their expectations were met through working with a preceptor nurse (58.73%). Furthermore, almost half of the newly graduated nurses experienced and expressed disappointment in the first year of their professional lives. Conclusions The findings indicate that newly graduated nurses experience some difficulty during this period of transition, but assistance from experienced nurses facilitates the transition period. Implications for Nursing Practice and Research In order to increase work quality and satisfaction levels of new graduates, support programs must be initialized and their effectiveness must be evaluated regularly by clinical administrators and educators.