The impact of modeling behavior by novice nurses on workplace adaptation: a cross-sectional study

Novice nurses are easily stressed by their workload, low practical skills, high expectations, and the gap between school learning and practice. These stresses may reinforce maladaptive behaviors and lead to turnover. Reducing stressors requires effective guidance and a positive environment, but novice nurses must also take action to adjust. As adaptation is presumed to occur through Modeling Behavior (MB), this study aimed to explore the impact of MB on workplace adaptation.

From 300 randomly selected Japanese healthcare facilities with at least 200 general hospital beds, 86 agreed to collaborate, and questionnaires were distributed to 1,536 eligible novice nurses accordingly. Data collection was conducted between October and November 2020 through an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey using postal mail. Based on the conceptual framework of this study, relationships among the Novice Nurse Modeling Scale, the Novice Nurse Workplace Adaptive Behavior Scale, and the Novice Nurse Workplace Adaptive State Scale were analyzed using covariance structure analysis.

Responses were obtained from 427 participants, resulting in a response rate of 27.8%. After excluding individuals who did not meet the study criteria and data with missing values, 378 participants were included in the final analysis, yielding an effective response rate of 24.6%. As a result of the analysis, the hypothesized structural model-where MB influences workplace adaptive state via adaptive behavior -showed a good fit (GFI = 0.901, AGFI = 0.850, RMSEA = 0.096, CFI = 0.918), with all paths significant at the 1% level.

MB influences adaptation of novice nurses. It plays a key role in promoting behaviors that support novice nurses' adaptation to the workplace.