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Lee, Li-Hung. (2009) A phenomenological study exploring the first year experiences of neophyte nurses in Taiwan. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

The high neophyte nurses’ turnover rate has been recognized as one of the most important issues in Taiwan’s nursing profession. Although Taiwanese nursing researchers have started to investigate the reasons why neophyte nurses’ leave their jobs, most of the studies use quantitative research methodologies. Consequently, we still know very little about how neophyte nurses experience their first year after graduating. Therefore, in order to comprehensively understand more about the phenomenon of neophyte nurses’ experiences following graduation, the research question was posed to guide the study: How do neophyte nurses experience their first year after graduating in Taiwan? The aim of the study was to explore the first year experiences of Taiwanese neophyte nurses.

The study was undertaken using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The participants were recruited from two sources: a nursing junior college and a healthcare institute in central Taiwan. One hundred and forty-three neophyte nurses from a local junior nursing college and one hundred and thirty-six neophyte nurses from a healthcare institute were the potential participants. Thirty-one neophyte nurses participated in this study. Data were collected via in-depth interviews and analyzed using phenomenological methods.

The findings of the study uncovered the phenomenon of how neophyte nurses experience their first year of practice in Taiwan. Three themes emerged from the analysis process, which are: hesitation, a hard beginning, and achievement. Prior to entering work and during their first year of practice, the neophyte nurses felt hesitant. This period of hesitation has not yet been fully discovered either in Taiwanese literature or in that of the English-speaking countries. This is relevant to our understanding of the experiences of the neophyte nurses. When the participants started nursing, they experienced a hard beginning period. They learnt through tears, felt frustrated but also gained others’ support. Then, they recognized that, in order to master the nurse role, they had to go through the transition period. It is important that keep practising nursing in the same unit and not to frequently change their posts during the transition period because entering any new post may need another period of time to adapt to their new role. By gaining positive feedback from the patients and their families, they finally felt a sense of achievement from nursing work.

The findings not only bridge the gap in the knowledge of how neophyte nurses experience their first year of practice, but also provide valuable insights for future neophyte nurses, and nurse administrators, preceptors and nurse educators who may wish to guide neophyte nurses. They will also help policy-makers to understand what efforts could be made to facilitate the neophyte nurses’ transition from student to nurse and to reduce the number of neophyte nurses who leave the profession at an early stage.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Greatrex-White, S. Randle, J.
Subjects:	W Medicine and related subjects (NLM Classification) > WY Nursing
Faculties/Schools:	UK Campuses > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Nursing
Item ID:	10966
Depositing User:	EP, Services
Date Deposited:	23 Jun 2010 13:22
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2017 05:53
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/10966

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