Meeting the Challenge of New Graduate Role Transition

In Brief The transition from new graduate to professional nurse can be a challenging process. In some cases, more than 50% of new graduates have left their first position within the first year. One strategy that has been shown to yield positive results in facilitating new graduate role transition is nurse internship programs. All studies of internship programs in this review demonstrated lower turnover at 1 year after hire when compared with traditional clinical orientation programs. In this article, the authors examine the challenges faced by new graduate nurses and explore the overall feasibility and cost effectiveness of nurse internship programs in promoting staff retention.