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New Graduate Nurses’ Professional Commitment: Antecedents and Outcomes
Author(s) -
Guerrero Sylvie,
Chênevert Denis,
Kilroy Steven
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 1527-6546
DOI - 10.1111/jnu.12323
Subject(s) - psychology , organizational commitment , graduate students , nursing , medical education , social psychology , medicine , pedagogy
Purpose This study examines the factors that increase new graduate nurses’ professional commitment and how this professional commitment in turn affects professional turnover intentions, anxiety, and physical health symptoms. Design The study was carried out in association with the nursing undergraduate's affiliation of Quebec, Canada. A three‐wave longitudinal design was employed among nursing students. Nurses were surveyed before they entered the labor market, and then twice after they started working. Methods Participants were contacted by post at their home address. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings and Conclusion Professional commitment explains why good work characteristics and the provision of organizational resources related to patient care reduce nurses’ anxiety and physical symptoms, and increase their professional turnover intentions. Pre‐entry professional perceptions moderate the effects of work characteristics on professional commitment such that when participants hold positive pre‐entry perceptions about the profession, the propensity to develop professional commitment is higher. Clinical Relevance There is a worldwide shortage of nurses. From a nurse training perspective, it is important to create realistic perceptions of the nursing role. In hospitals, providing a good work environment and resources conducive to their professional ethos is critical for ensuring nurses do not leave the profession early on in their careers.