Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
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The use of mixed methods to examine the transition
experiences and intent to stay of degree graduate nurses
Authors: Ms. Anne-Marie Brady; Prof. Cecily Begley and Prof.
Charles Normand. Trinity College Dublin
Background
Recruitment and retention of nurses has been identified as the
highest priority managerial issue for research in the Nursing and
Midwifery Research Priorities Report (National Council for Nursing
and Midwifery, 2005:52). The shortage of nurses is a global
problem due, in part, to staff attrition, changing demographics, and
enhanced patient survival with chronic illness (Antonazzo, 2003;
DOH&C, 2002). Recent transformations in nursing education have
placed Irish Nursing in a unique position across Europe as the entire
workforce has been converted to degree-based education on entry
to practice. In 2006, the first degree graduate nurses entered the
health service workforce at a time of unprecedented career choices
and these graduates will find themselves with much greater mobility
than previous cohorts, should they decide to leave the profession.
Aim
To gain an understanding of the labour supply behaviour of degree
graduate nurses, and thus contribute to appropriate health policy
planning in relation to retention of an adequate and consistent
number of motivated nurses in the Irish Health Service.
Specific objectives
o To identify the employment profiles of new degree graduate
nurses
o To ascertain the nature and quality of support given to new
graduates on entry to practice and to compare this support
across different clinical settings and geographical locations.
o To ascertain the perceived working conditions of degree
graduate nurses and how this impacts on their career
decisions
o To explore the impact of the experiences of new graduate
nurses on entry to nursing practice on their subsequent career
expectations and decision-making
� To identify the factors that positively influence new graduate
retention and the factors that influence intent to leave
Methodology
The foundation that informs the process of enquiry to be used in
this study is pragmatism. Pragmatism is concerned with the
outcomes of research more than the methods used. It is practical
and orientated to what work best to answer the question at hand.
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