Career adaptability of newly graduated nurses in operating room: a qualitative study

The transition from nursing students to independent practitioners is a critical period for newly graduated nurses, with their career adaptability directly impacting job satisfaction and workforce stability. The operating room, characterized by high risk, high precision, and relative isolation, presents a unique environment that profoundly shapes the adaptation trajectories of newly graduated nurses through its “material density, authority visibility, and spatial confinement.” Existing research predominantly focuses on general ward settings, with limited exploration of the adaptation experiences, specific challenges, and coping mechanisms of newly recruited operating room nurses. This study, grounded in an integrated perspective of transition shock theory and career construction theory, aims to deeply explore the authentic adaptation experiences of newly recruited operating room nurses. It seeks to systematically identify influencing factors and coping strategies, providing empirical foundation for building supportive, healthy work environments and promoting nursing workforce stability. This study adopted a descriptive phenomenological design. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 newly graduated operating room nurses recruited from a tertiary hospital in Northeast China from May to November 2024. Participants were selected using purposive sampling until data saturation was reached. Interview data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method, which is well-suited for capturing lived experiences. Six influencing factors (individual characteristics, professional competence development, professional identity and role perception, workplace-specific stressors and risks, workplace interpersonal relationships, and organizational environment) and four key categories of improvement measures (self-adjustment, proactive communication and skill enhancement, building support networks and perceived organizational support through structured training) for career adaptability were identified. The career adaptability of newly hired operating room nurses involves a dual process of enduring transitional stress and actively constructing professional identity. This study identifies multidimensional factors influencing adaptation and the corresponding coping strategies. Successful adaptation relies not only on individual psychological resources and proactive identity construction but also requires a multi-layered, healthy work ecosystem comprising systematic training, supportive interpersonal relationships, and an inclusive organizational culture. Nursing administrators should focus on cultivating such environments to facilitate the smooth adaptation of newly graduated nurses and stabilize the nursing workforce.