Amanda Kenny1, Virginia Dickson-Swift2, Lisa McKenna3, Martin Charette4, Kathy L Rush5, Gemma Stacey6, Angela Darvill7, Jacqueline Leigh8, Rob Burton9, Craig Phillips10. 1. Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research, La Trobe Rural Health School, P.O. Box 199, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia. Electronic address: A.Kenny@latrobe.edu.au. 2. Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research, La Trobe Rural Health School, P.O. Box 199, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia. Electronic address: V.Dickson-Swift@latrobe.edu.au. 3. School Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia. Electronic address: l.mckenna@latrobe.edu.au. 4. School of Nursing and Midwifery, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC 3086, Australia. Electronic address: m.charette@latrobe.edu.au. 5. School of Nursing, University of British Columbia - Okanagan, ART 150-1147 Research Road, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada. Electronic address: Kathy.rush@ubc.ca. 6. Florence Nightingale Foundation, Deans Mews, 11-13 Cavendish Square, London, England W1G 0AN, UK. Electronic address: Gemma@florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk. 7. Children's Nursing, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK. Electronic address: a.darvill@hud.ac.uk. 8. School Health & Society, Room MS 1-43 Mary Seacloe Building, University of Salford, M6 6PU, UK. Electronic address: j.a.leigh4@salford.ac.uk. 9. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Singapore. Electronic address: r.burton@griffith.edu.au. 10. Clinical and Health Sciences Unit, University of South Australia, City East Campus (C5-35), GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. Electronic address: Craig.Phillips@unisa.edu.au.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this mixed methods systematic review was to: i) document the interventions that support and facilitate graduate nurse transition from university to practice in a diversity of healthcare settings and ii) to identify outcomes from graduate nurse transition interventions for the graduate, patient or client, and health service. DESIGN: This mixed methods systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. All quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies were included if they met the inclusion criteria. DATA SOURCES: Primary research studies located in Medline, EmBase, CINAHL, Prospero, Cochrane Library, PsycInfo, and Web of Science (Social Science Citation Index). All quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies were included if they met the inclusion criteria. REVIEW METHODS: Using a comprehensive search strategy, retrieved articles were screened by two reviewers at the title, abstract, and full-text stage. Reviewer disagreements were discussed until consensus was achieved. The well-validated Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess quality of the quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. RESULTS: A total of 130 studies were included as the review dataset. There was a myriad of terms used to describe transition interventions, and programme length and settings varied. The content of transition interventions was not well defined, and there was a lack of studies outside acute hospital settings. Data collection methods varied widely. The majority of authors reported outcomes for the graduate or the graduate and service, with only one reporting outcomes for the patient or client. There was a significant variation in quality across the studies. CONCLUSIONS: This review addresses a significant gap in the literature by documenting transition interventions in a diversity of health settings and outcomes from these interventions. Interest in transition to practice continues to rise, but there is an urgent need to conduct well designed, robust, and larger-scale studies at the national and transnational levels.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this mixed methods systematic review was to: i) document the interventions that support and facilitate graduate nurse transition from university to practice in a diversity of healthcare settings and ii) to identify outcomes from graduate nurse transition interventions for the graduate, patient or client, and health service. DESIGN: This mixed methods systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. All quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies were included if they met the inclusion criteria. DATA SOURCES: Primary research studies located in Medline, EmBase, CINAHL, Prospero, Cochrane Library, PsycInfo, and Web of Science (Social Science Citation Index). All quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies were included if they met the inclusion criteria. REVIEW METHODS: Using a comprehensive search strategy, retrieved articles were screened by two reviewers at the title, abstract, and full-text stage. Reviewer disagreements were discussed until consensus was achieved. The well-validated Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess quality of the quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. RESULTS: A total of 130 studies were included as the review dataset. There was a myriad of terms used to describe transition interventions, and programme length and settings varied. The content of transition interventions was not well defined, and there was a lack of studies outside acute hospital settings. Data collection methods varied widely. The majority of authors reported outcomes for the graduate or the graduate and service, with only one reporting outcomes for the patient or client. There was a significant variation in quality across the studies. CONCLUSIONS: This review addresses a significant gap in the literature by documenting transition interventions in a diversity of health settings and outcomes from these interventions. Interest in transition to practice continues to rise, but there is an urgent need to conduct well designed, robust, and larger-scale studies at the national and transnational levels.