Level and influencing factors of transition shock among new nurses in China: A multicenter cross-sectional study

New nurses are an important part of nursing teams. The failure of new nurses to successfully transition seriously affects personal career development and nursing work quality, and important influencing factors deserve the attention of nursing managers. At present, multicenter, large-sample investigations of transition shock among new nurses are lacking in China. This study aims to investigate the current level and influencing factors of transition shock among new nurses in China.

We conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study with 3414 new nurses from 16 provinces in 7 regions in China from October 22, 2021, to November 8, 2021. We used the snowball sampling method and an online questionnaire produced by the researchers to collect data; the questionnaire included questions on demographic information, a transition shock scale for new nurses and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.

The effective response rate of this study was 97.89%, with 3342 effective participants from 189 hospitals in China, most of whom were female (94.88%). The study showed that the transition shock of new nurses in China was at a moderate level, with pre-job anxiety, unsatisfactory welfare treatment, resignation intention, adverse events, poor sleep quality, 1 or fewer exercise sessions per week, inability to balance work and life, and gluttony negatively affecting the transition shock of new nurses in China. Psychological shock was the strongest among the four dimensions of transition shock.

The transition shock of new nurses, especially their psychological shock, deserves more attention from international society. Nursing managers should continue to take supportive measures to intervene in the factors influencing transition shock, with the aim of reducing the level of transition for new nurses, promoting their personal thriving, improving the quality of nursing work and increasing the retention rate of nurses.