Nurses are a key part of healthcare professionals and represent the largest group of professionals in this field. They play a significant role in the delivery of quality health care and play an important role in improving health outcomes for individuals, families and communities, participating in both prevention and treatment. Currently, however, the shortage of nurses is steadily increasing, with an estimated shortage of half a million workers this year (Tamata and Mohammadnezhad, 2023). In view of this, it is necessary for the attention of professionals to focus on young nurses and thus support them in their efforts to remain in the given job position.
Risk factors affecting novice nurses
It is estimated that about 18% of beginning nurses decide to leave their profession within one year of starting the job. There are several reasons. A higher rate of burnout, emotional exhaustion and restlessness with employment and career was found among young nurses. The stress that they encounter on a daily basis weighs more heavily on beginning nurses. However, the reason is also the feeling of low support from colleagues (Wu et al., 2025). Younger nurses seem to be more exposed to problems in the field of work adaptation, they experience more stress and anxiety compared to older nurses. The reason may be that the work experience of older nurses supports the development of coping strategies to protect against burnout. However, young nurses lack these experiences. In addition, high demands are placed on nurses for the quality of nursing care provided to a large number of patients (Do et al., 2022). It is especially challenging for beginning nurses to provide care to critically ill patients, which was confirmed especially during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019 (Galanis et al., 2021; Shen et al., 2022). The need for support is also caused by the fact that nurses at the beginning of their career often feel insufficiently prepared for their tasks, which increases work stress and discourages adaptation to the professional role (Son et al., 2022).
Interventions to support young nurses
Organizational support is crucial in implementing strategies to retain nurses in their profession and promote quality patient care. However, the support provided must be perceived by the nurse herself, because only in that case it is possible to reduce the mental, physical and emotional fatigue of nurses, which are closely related to work stress and burnout syndrome, i.e. one of the reasons for leaving the job (Son et al., 2022). We also recommend adjusting the work environment as part of organizational support. According to research, it is crucial to ensure access to information, such as standardized procedures. Also important is access to resources in the form of equipment and materials necessary for the performance of work, access to support, for example from colleagues in the form of feedback, access to learning opportunities and the possibility of growth. The last two conditions can be ensured by skills development training. The mentioned factors have a positive effect on the successful transition of graduates from the position of student to the role of professional. These steps are also supported by the fact that the possibility of acquiring competences, opportunities for professional development and socialization with colleagues reduce the incidence of the intention to leave the profession among younger nurses (Barton et al., 2018; Barisone et al., 2019).
Another important form of support is the creation of a friendly environment at the workplace. A friendly environment not only has a positive effect on the nurse's well-being at work, but also on the development of her knowledge and practical skills. It is necessary for beginning nurses to have a favorable working environment that creates an opportunity for them to grow professionally and gain autonomy. At the same time, they must feel safe and supported in the workplace. It has been proven that a positive work environment not only facilitates the transition period at the start, but also improves the quality of patient care. In practice, the nurse's mentor also has an important role, which has an irreplaceable role. She is a reference person for the new nurse, helping her to assume her new role. A mentor, i.e. a more experienced nurse, has the task of improving the clash between theory and practice in a real environment (Hallaran et al., 2023).
However, in addition to the steps taken by the facility, it is also necessary to implement changes in the healthcare sector. One of the needs is also an increase in wages, because financial support is an important factor for the support of beginning nurses (SITA, 2024). Low financial remuneration is an important factor for which nursing graduates often refuse a job offer or leave their job (Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives).
Knowledge from practice
Due to our long-term work in the healthcare sector as a nurse, we are aware of the burden placed on nurses entering practice. Very often, nurses are under stress from a clash with reality. Despite the fact that during the course of their studies they come into direct contact with patients and experience a real situation in a hospital environment, this experience does not reflect the real level of responsibility placed on them when starting their practice. Young nurses are often under pressure as they are expected to be able to immediately demonstrate their skills and handle challenging situations without prior experience. This pressure can lead to feelings of insecurity and fear of making mistakes.
We consider it very important to pay attention to young nurses in the period of starting practice, because they are still learning how to effectively and safely provide care and react in various stressful situations. In practice, we have verified several times the above-mentioned assumption that neglecting the period of entry into practice can lead not only to insufficient development of the necessary skills, but can also negatively affect the nurse's attitude to the profession and can also cause her to leave the profession.
Recommendations for practice:
- Constantly improve and evaluate systematic adaptation programs for beginning nurses.
- Ensure quality mentoring and coaching at each workplace for beginning nurses.
- Support the professional growth and lifelong learning of novice nurses by creating suitable conditions, such as time, financial and material support for training and other educational activities.
- Ensure regular monitoring of the satisfaction and needs of young nurses with a frequency of at least once every three months, using anonymous questionnaires, personal consultations and feedback.
- Increase the financial remuneration of beginning nurses.
Conclusion
We consider the support of young aspiring nurses to be extremely important, especially in the current situation, when healthcare facilities are facing a shortage of qualified personnel and a declining interest in the nursing profession. In order to ensure the stabilization of these new workers in the field, it is necessary to create systematic and targeted support at several levels, i.e. at the level of the workplace itself, the entire organization and also the health department. Only a combination of personal, organizational and systemic support can increase the likelihood that novice nurses will remain in the profession and continue to develop within it. In this way, we can improve not only the personnel situation in the healthcare sector, but also the overall quality of the nursing care provided.
Author: Bc. Ivana KOVÁČOVÁ
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