New Graduate Nurses' Perceptions of Patient Safety: Describing and Comparing Responses With Experienced Nurses

A significant proportion of the acute health system workforce is composed of new graduate nurses, yet there is a limited understanding of patient safety perceptions among new graduate nurses and how they compare with nurses who have more experience.

This study used a descriptive approach to complete secondary analysis on two sources of data containing new graduate nurses' (n = 1,613) and experienced nurses' (n = 64,906) responses to the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture.

New graduate nurses had a more positive perception of safety culture than more experienced nurses. The greatest differences were observed in perceptions of how nurse managers respond to mistakes. Similarities in perceptions were observed on items associated with communication.

Educational systems and transitional programs must prepare new graduate nurses for patient care. There is an opportunity for academic and practice partners to collaborate on programs that facilitate the transition of new graduate nurses to the workforce. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(7):309-315.].