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
Pragmatism represents a view of the world that recognizes that they
are singular and multiple realties (Creswell, 2007). Mixed method
research enables the mixing of qualitiative and qualitative
approaches through out the research process (Creswell, 2003).
Mixed method research responds to the pressures for outcomes in
healthcare but it can also report on the context of those outcomes.
Research Design
A concurrent mixed method triangulation mixed method design will
be used. Triangulation is a one phase study that will use
quantitative and qualitative methods within the same time frame
(Creswell, 2003). A quantitative national survey of recent nursing
graduates who have make the transition in to the nursing workforce
will be undertaken to examine the educational preparation, career
intentions, employment profiles, employment patterns, professional
progress, occupational demands, personal demands, and support
during transition from student to staff nurse and to determine the
factors that influence the intent of degree graduates to stay in or
leave the profession. This will be complemented by qualitative
interviews with a sample of registered nurses 9-12 months after
entry to practice to examine their experiences on transition into
practice particularly in relation to their reactions and support on
transition, factors that influence intent to stay and leave and future
career expectations. The data will then be integrated in the
interpretation phase of the study.
Ethical Considerations
This study has full ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of
the Faculty of Health Sciences Trinity College.
Sample
National Survey
The target population is all newly registered nurses entering the
general, psychiatric and learning disability divisions of the register
in 2007. All new graduates from nursing degree courses across 13
third level institutions engaged in the education of undergraduate
nursing students will be invited to participate in the survey six
months after entry to practice.
Interviews
All participants in the initial survey phase will be invited to
participate in the qualitative interviews, and a proportional stratified
sampling strategy will be will be used to select participants for the
interviews. The smaller purposive sampling for the qualitative phase
of the study is designed to focus on the experiences of new
graduates during the first months of practice across all disciplines.
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