Psychosocial Outcomes and Turnover Intention of Mental Health Transition-to-Practice Nurses at 6 Months Follow-Up

There are worldwide shortages in the mental health nursing workforce. Transition-to-practice programs are a vital avenue for recruiting and supporting nurses entering the mental health sector. There is little evidence, however, on the psychosocial and work-related outcomes of mental health transition nurses (registered and enrolled) during their transition into this specialty field. The overall aim of this study was to investigate mental health transition nurses' perceived stress, well-being, resilience, work satisfaction, turnover intention and mental health stigma attitudes at 6 months into their program and examine changes in these outcomes between a baseline assessment at 4 weeks into transition and follow-up at 6 months. At follow-up, perceived stress, well-being and resilience scores were moderate, turnover intention was low and work satisfaction of n = 49 nurses was high. Higher work satisfaction predicted greater well-being, less stigmatising attitudes predicted higher resilience and lower work satisfaction predicted increased turnover intention. Only turnover intention significantly increased from baseline to 6 months. Nurses with scores indicating poor well-being (n = 10) had significantly higher perceived stress and turnover intention and lower work satisfaction and stigma. These findings highlight the need for targeted support over the initial transition period to promote nurses' mental health, well-being and retention as they transition into the field. Addressing factors such as work satisfaction and stigma in transition programs may be essential for reducing nurses' stress and turnover intentions, particularly for nurses experiencing reduced well-being.