Undergraduate nursing students' preparedness for transition to internship: A scoping review protocol

The transition from undergraduate nursing student to internship is viewed as a critical stage in professional development. During this transitional period, students are expected to consolidate clinical competence, integrate theoretical knowledge with their practice, and develop confidence and readiness for increasing responsibility in healthcare provision. Internship or internship-like experiences are embedded within undergraduate nursing curricula internationally, and it is recognised that this transition is often associated with uncertainty, anxiety, and reduced confidence. Recent developments in Irish nursing education, particularly the Registered Nurse Education Programme Standards published by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland [NMBI], have strengthened the emphasis on readiness for practice and by inference internship preparation. A review and synthesis of contemporary evidence is therefore needed to map what is known about undergraduate nursing students' preparedness for transition to internship in preparation for future practice as a qualified nurse.

This scoping review aims to identify and map the breadth of evidence addressing undergraduate nursing students' preparedness for transition from supernumerary clinical placements to internship, including identification of the factors that either facilitate or hinder student preparedness to support this transition.

This protocol follows Joanna Briggs Institute [JBI] scoping review methodology and uses the Population, Concept, and Context [PCC] framework to guide eligibility criteria, search strategy, screening, extraction, and final synthesis of the evidence. Reporting for this protocol will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocols [PRISMA-P]. The completed scoping review will adhere to the guidance of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews [PRISMA-ScR] to ensure transparency and rigour in final reporting. The protocol has been registered on the Open Science Framework available at https://osf.io/9zdgy/. A pilot search will be conducted in CINAHL and ERIC to refine search terms. A comprehensive search will then be undertaken in CINAHL, MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, and ERIC, including grey literature sources from the Health Service Executive, Department of Health, Higher Education Authority, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, EMBASE Conference Abstracts, and Conference Proceedings Citation Index. Screening and data charting will be conducted independently in research team pairs using Covidence. Extracted data will be analysed and synthesised using a descriptive and thematic approach with the overall aim of synthesis being to map the nature and characteristics of the evidence.

Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and conference presentation.