The Challenges of Transition to Practice Expressed Through the Lived Experience of New-to-Practice Nurses

Background: The nurse’s transition into practice is challenging. The need to facilitate a safe transition into practice and retain nurses is crucial in today’s healthcare.

Objective and Design: The qualitative study aim was to describe the lived experiences of new nurses’ safe transition into practice and their perceptions of functioning as safe practitioners.

Method: This descriptive, phenomenological arm of a larger, mixed methods study (Safety Transition Education to Practice study) interviewed 11 nurses with varied clinical backgrounds regarding their first six months as licensed nurses. Semistructured, one-to-one interviews with nurses representing geographical locations across the nation were conducted. Colaizzi’s method of analysis was used to extract themes.

Results: The data revealed five themes with subthemes. The most universal theme was lack of practical knowledge (skills dexterity, real-world knowledge), followed by impostor syndrome, safety culture (unsafe environment, lack of supplies, lack of mentoring/management), internalized fear, and seeking the sage.

Conclusion: The experiences support the understanding that transition to practice is overwhelming and uncertain. Academic faculty and practice nurses’ cooperative efforts can aid novice nurses in safe transition to practice through academic curriculum enhancement, preceptors, and nurse residency programs working toward narrowing the academic practice gap.