Abstract
Novice nurses’ successful transition to practice is impacted by their interactions with senior nurses. Ensuring that novice nurses are adequately supported during their transition to practice has wide-ranging and significant implications. The aim of this study is to explore the communication patterns between novice and senior nurses by applying an interaction analysis technique. Trimonthly onboarding evaluations between novice and senior nurses were recorded. The Roter Interaction Analysis System was adapted and deployed to identify communication patterns. In total, twenty-two interactions were analyzed. Senior nurses spoke more (64.5%). Task-focused exchange was predominant amongst senior (79.7%) and novice (59.5%) nurses. Senior nurses’ talk was concentrated in clusters of information-giving (45%) and advice or instructions (17.2%), while emotional expression (1.4%) and social talk (0.4%) were rare. Novice nurses’ talk was concentrated in clusters-information giving (57%) and positive talk (39.5%). The communication patterns between senior and novice nurses during the onboarding period indicate aspects of novice nurse transition that could be addressed, such as encouraging novice nurses to use these interactions to communicate more, or emphasizing the importance of social talk. These insights can be used to inform mentorship and preceptorship training to ensure that senior nurses are able to adequately support novice nurses through all parts of the transition to practice period.
Highlights
The findings demonstrated that the majority of communication from novice nurses was placed in the following clusters: information-giving (57.2%) and positive talk (39.5%)
Our study contributes to a wider body of research that seeks to better understand aspects of novice nurses’ transition to practice, in terms of how senior nurses engage with novice nurses
Our findings indicate that during onboarding evaluations, senior and novice nurses tend to emphasize task-focused topics, while other aspects of the overall transition to practice period are not prioritized to the same extent
Summary
Communication between senior and novice nurses can have a significant impact on novice nurses’ transition to practice, their organizational commitment and their sense of psychological safety in the workplace [1,2,3,4]. During novice nurses’ onboarding, insufficient feedback and limited verbal engagement from senior nurses have been shown to have a negative impact on new nurses’ sense of confidence [5] and can exacerbate feelings of isolation [6]. Regular and constructive feedback from senior nurses has a valuable impact on novice nurses’ confidence and their professional development [7]. Ensuring that novice nurses are supported, both professionally and interpersonally, is important. Novice nurses’ onboarding involves a significant amount of learning
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