Date
4-17-2024
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Chair
Rachel Joseph
Keywords
transition to practice, new graduate nurse, emergency department, transition shock, residency, nursing education, orientation
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Donnie E. Jr., "Lived Experiences of New Graduate Nurses Transitioning to the Emergency Department: A Transcendental Phenomenological Approach" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5332.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5332
Abstract
The transition to practice period is a challenging time for all new graduate nurses. It is well documented that the emergency department is a challenging environment. Due to multiple factors, the specialty areas including the emergency department (ED) are hiring more new graduate nurses to fill the open positions. There is a gap in the literature concerning the transition experiences of new graduate nurses to the emergency department. The purpose of this qualitative, transcendental, phenomenological study is to understand the transition to practice experience of new graduate nurses in the ED in a teaching hospital in eastern North Carolina. The theories guiding this study are Afaf Ibrahim Meleis’s transitions theory and Patricia Benner’s novice to expert model as they frame how nurses transition from student to professional nurse and through various stages from novice to an expert as they gain knowledge and skills. The central research question is “what is the lived experience of new graduate nurses during the transition to the emergency department”? Through this qualitative study, 11 new graduate nurses who transitioned to the ED in the previous 10-12 months were interviewed to gain insight on their experience. Four themes and nine sub-themes emerged from the data analysis. Findings implied that more educational preparation and clinical exposure to the ED would be beneficial in ensuring a successful transition. Findings from this study can guide educators to modify nursing curriculum to integrate specialty practice into undergraduate education and emergency room personnel to make modifications to orientation processes to enable successful transition of new graduate nurses to the ED.
