A Model of New Nurse Transition

The progression from nursing student into the RN role remains difficult, despite over 30 years of effort to ease the transition for new graduates. We review the research on programs designed to help new graduates move into practice and propose a model for new nurse transition that starts during nursing education and continues 2 years into practice. The model illustrates the frequent detachment between efforts taken by nursing schools and employers to facilitate this transition. We offer recommendations for the design of future research to capture all transition efforts, from student to functioning RN, and better identify the critical elements of new nurse transition programs. Evidence such as this is needed to allow schools and employers to use their limited resources most effectively to support graduate nurses.