The socialisation of new graduate nurses during a preceptorship programme: strategies for recruitment and support

Aims and objectives The purpose of this study is to gain greater understanding of new graduate nurses' organisational socialisation and to help inform recruitment and support strategies for this population. To this end, it uses Van Maneen and Schein's theory of organisational socialisation to explore new graduate nurses' perceptions of role conflict, role ambiguity, job satisfaction and turnover intent at the end of their preceptorship programme. Background The literature on new graduate nurses reflects concerns with high turnover rates during early work experiences. Under‐preparation of and lack of support for new graduate nurses are often‐reported reasons for these high turnover rates. Preceptorship programmes have been implemented to specifically address these challenges. Design This study uses a cross‐sectional multisite design with a survey. Methods A sample of 45 new graduate nurses completed a quantitative survey at the end of their preceptorship programme. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation analyses were conducted to explore the relationships. Results New graduate nurses in this study experienced low role ambiguity, role conflict and turnover intent and high job satisfaction. Their job satisfaction was associated with low role conflict and role ambiguity. Working in their first job of choice was related to less role conflict and role ambiguity. Having previous experience on the unit was not a meaningful variable. Conclusions New graduate nurses who reported a greater understanding of their work roles and less role conflict and were working in their first job of choice were generally more satisfied with their job. Previous experience on the unit was not related to any of the socialisation outcomes in this study. However, the transition experienced during clinical placements and early work experiences may be different. Relevance to clinical practice The results of this study provide managers and educators with greater insight into the socialisation of new graduate nurses, as well as concrete strategies for recruitment and support.