Safety Behavior and Transition Shock among Newly Graduated Nurses: The Mediating Role of Feedback-Seeking Behavior

To determine the relationship between transition shock and safety behavior among newly graduated nurses (NGNs) and explore the mediating role of feedback-seeking behavior.

The safety behavior of NGNs plays a vital role in improving patient safety in clinical situations. The direct effect of the transition shock experienced by these nurses on safety behavior remains limited, and little is known about the mediating effect of feedback-seeking behavior.

A descriptive correlational research design was conducted with a cross-sectional sample of nurses in China using an online survey. A convenience sample of 575 nurses from 17 hospitals completed the questionnaires. Correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were used to examine the hypotheses.

The sampled NGNs' safety behavior score was 55.35 ± 5.46. Their transition shock was negatively associated with safety behavior (β = -0.225, p < 0.001). In contrast, feedback-seeking behavior was positively related to safety behavior (β = 0.502, p < 0.001). The feedback-seeking behavior partially mediated the relationship between transition shock and safety behavior, and the mediating effect was 58.29%.

The results emphasized that the relationship between NGNs' transition shock and safety behavior is mediated by feedback-seeking behavior. Implications for Nursing Management. Interventions focusing on transition shock relief could help improve NGNs' safety behavior. This study highlights the importance of encouraging feedback-seeking behavior to improve patient safety outcomes, especially for junior nurses. It can therefore be assumed that the nursing managers' training of NGNs in special skills, such as feedback-seeking, may be conducive to their positive coping and contribute to forming safety behaviors.