Effects of shadowing and supervised on-the-job inductions on mental health nurses

Abstract

Supervised on-the-job inductions or inductions through shadowing can help new nurses gain realistic information about the job role, the organization and procedures within it. This study investigated whether the induction of new mental health nurses is a key predictor of job performance, attitudes towards the organization and work-related stress. Data from 5337 mental health nurses who took part in the NHS Staff Survey of 2011 were analysed. Results showed that the more the work-related stress, the worse the nurses’ job performance, and the less positive the attitude towards the organization; in addition, the better the job performance, the more positive the attitude towards the organization. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant multivariate and between-group main effects of each induction method (supervised on-the-job inductions and inductions via shadowing). In both cases, inducted nurses rated the organization more positively, had lower work-related stress and better job performance than non-inducted nurses. There were no significant interactions between the two induction methods, showing that their impact is orthogonal. Inductions help mental health nurses gain realistic views of the job, and this benefits the quality of their work, their attitudes towards the organization and experiences of stress. Lay summary 1. Inductions help mental health nurses gain realistic information about how to do the job, as well as helping them learn about the organization. 2. There are different induction methods; this study focused on investigating the impact of supervised on-the-job training, and also inductions which use job shadowing methods. 3. The results showed that the higher the nurse’s work-related stress, the worse their job performance and the less positive the nurse’s attitude towards the organization. 4. Inducted nurses rate the organization more positively, experience lower levels of work-related stress and present better job performance than non-inducted nurses. This applies to both induction methods.