The Challenge of Surveying New Graduate Nurses

Random samples are the gold standard when surveying a nationwide population, such as new graduate nurses. The goal of this article is to detail the challenges experienced when sampling and surveying newly licensed RNs who entered the health care environment during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. To create a random sample of this population, all 51 U.S. state boards of nursing were contacted. State boards of nursing are the best resource for this information, but obtaining contact information, soliciting a response, and dealing with privacy laws as well as the cost of the lists reduced the survey frame. Of the 51 state boards, eight provided usable lists of participants. Obtaining a sampling frame was challenging. Once created, other issues arose. Finding ways to obtain random sampling lists of RNs and encouraging nurses to participate in research are key elements of addressing issues in health care today. [.