Mediating Effect of Career Adaptability Between Transition Shock and Retention Intention Among Intern Nursing...

To examine whether career adaptability mediated the relationship between transition shock and retention intention among intern nursing students.

A cross-sectional study.

From September 1st to October 1st 2024, an online questionnaire survey was conducted among 336 nursing interns from one hospital in northern Fujian Province, China using convenience sampling. Demographic questionnaire, Transition shock of newly graduated nurse scale, Nurses' workplace adaptability scale, and Nurses' retention intention scale were used to collect data. The SPSS 26.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the interaction among transition shock, career adaptability, and retention intention, and PROCESS Macro Model 4 for the mediating effect.

It showed that transition shock was negatively related to retention intention and career adaptability. Conversely, career adaptability was positively with retention intention. Career adaptability mediated the role of 32.95% the association between transition shock and retention intention.

Associations consistent with partial mediation were revealed among transition shock, career adaptability, and retention intention.

This study examined how career adaptability was related to retention intention among nursing interns experiencing transition shock. Career adaptability partially mediated the transition shock-retention intention association, suggesting its potential as a focus to support novice nurses' retention.

For nursing education, enhancing career adaptability could be incorporated into internship training; for nursing practice, preceptors can support interns during the clinical transition. Such efforts may help stabilize the novice nursing workforce and sustain quality of patient care, warranting further empirical testing.

In accordance with the STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies: NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This is a cross-sectional study in which participants only provided data as respondents and are not engaged as collaborators in the research process.