Supporting New Graduated Nurse's Professional Competence, a Theoretical Model for Optimal Orientation
Condition: Competence; Nurse's Role
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This research is a longitudinal quasi-experimental intervention study which aim is to study
      education intervention's impact on new graduate nurses' orientation period, professional
      competence and organizational commitment. The study hypothesis is that new graduate nurses
      who start to work at the nursing unit which belong to the intervention group are more
      satisfied on received orientation, their professional competence develops faster and they are
      more committed to the organization than new graduate nurses at the units of the control
      group.
    

Detailed description: 
      This research is a dissertation which aim is to study nursing orientation from the
      preceptors' and new graduate nurses' point of view. The purpose is to develop a theoretical
      model for optimal orientation.

      The aim is to study whether it is possible to affect new graduate nurses' professional
      competence development and their organizational commitment by educating preceptors. The aim
      is also to study new graduate nurses' perceptions of their clinical learning environment and
      received orientation and supporting and impeding factors of the successful orientation from
      the preceptors' point of view.

      In order to measure the effectiveness of the education intervention on new graduate nurses'
      professional competence and commitment, participating nursing units is randomized by simple
      random sampling into the intervention group and the control group. Intervention group's
      preceptors is given an eight-hour education entity about orientation and preceptorship. The
      objective is to enhance preceptors' knowledge and skills about the orientation and to give
      preceptors means to precept new graduate nurses better. Nursing units at the control group
      continue to precept as before. The unit managers recruit participants (preceptors to the
      education intervention and new graduate nurses in both groups) to the study. No blinding has
      been made.

      The independent variables are preceptors, work community, supervisors and new graduate nurses
      sociodemographic characteristics. The dependent variables are new graduate nurses'
      professional competence and commitment.

      The data will be collected by using an electronical questionnaires. The Nurse Competence
      Scale (NCS©) will be used to study new graduate nurses' professional competence at the
      baseline, three months and nine months, a modified Clinical Learning Environment Scale
      (CLES+T©) will be used to study new graduate nurses' clinical learning environment and their
      orientation period at three months and Nurse Engagement Survey© will be used to study new
      graduate nurses' commitment at nine months. The same evaluations will be made in both groups.
      Preceptors' perceptions of the enhancing and impeding factors of the successful orientation
      is measured by open-ended questionnaire at the beginning of the education intervention.

      The study results will be published on international nursing research journals and the
      theoretical model for optimal orientation will be published on doctoral dissertation.
    

Intervention name(s): Educational intervention for preceptors
Intervention type(s): Other
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Longitudinal quasi-experimental intervention study
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Health Services Research