Effects of a clinical nurse educator-led new nurse education program on individual and organizational outcomes: Application of the Kirkpatrick model

Purpose: This study evaluated the effects of a clinical nurse educator (CNE)-led training program for newly graduated nurses on individual and organizational outcomes using Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model.Methods: A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was employed. A total of 367 new nurses from a tertiary hospital in Korea participated, including 186 in the control group (traditional training, 2022 cohort) and 181 in the experimental group (CNE-led training, 2023 cohort). Data were obtained from institutional records. Outcomes included educational satisfaction, clinical knowledge scores, discontinuation of the nurse residency program (NRP) before independent practice, patient safety incident reports, and one-year personnel turnover.Results: Clinical knowledge scores improved significantly in the experimental group compared with the control group (p=.021). The one-year personnel turnover rate decreased significantly from 27.4% to 18.8% (p=.043). Although educational satisfaction and NRP discontinuation rates improved, the differences were not statistically significant. No significant differences were observed in patient safety incident reports.Conclusion: The CNE-led training program effectively enhanced clinical competence and reduced early personnel turnover. These findings underscore the importance of structured onboarding programs in promoting early clinical adaptation and strengthening organizational retention.