Development of work readiness in graduate nurses during a Transition to Practice Program: A survey study

BackgroundTransition to Practice Programs (TPPs) support graduate nurses and midwives during their first year of clinical practice. ‘Work readiness’ theory proposes specific skills, knowledge, attributes are needed successfully transition into the workplace.AimsTo measure development self-perceived work readiness among graduates undertaking a 12-month TPP.MethodsRepeated measure, cross-sectional survey. Participants were cohort 160 (response rate 56.7%) commencing at large tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Work was measured using Readiness Scale-graduate three timepoints: on commencement (T1), 6 months (T2), completion (T3) TPP. Data collected between 2018 2019.ResultsGraduate’s Social Intelligence (p = 0.007) Competence (WC) < 0.001) subscales had significant increase from T1 T3. On TPP (T3), participants reported significantly higher Personal Characteristics 0.017) WC scores compared with baseline (T1). Scores for organisational acumen (OA) subscale high across all timepoints 0.898).DiscussionSignificant improvement four domains observed TPP.OA consistently timepoints, which may reflect comprehensive orientation provided before program.ConclusionUnderstanding can inform cost-effective TPPs that deliver desired outcomes.