From Classrooms to Crash Carts: Navigating the Transition of New Nurses into Clinical Practice

This descriptive-correlational-comparative study examined the relationships among structured preceptorship, clinical competency, and transition challenges among newly hired graduate nurses (N = 84) in selected primary and secondary hospitals in Bulacan, Philippines. A researcher-developed questionnaire was pilot-tested (N = 20; total-scale α = .870, .809, and .849). Preceptorship (M = 3.45), competency (M = 3.34), and challenges (M = 2.65) were moderate, with emergency and technical domains weakest. Preceptorship was positively associated with competency (r = .442, p < .001) and negatively with challenges (r = −.376, p < .001); competency and challenges were also negatively associated (r = −.363, p < .001). Sex differed only in competency (t(82) = 2.70, p = .008, d = 0.84). Findings informed a hospital-wide onboarding enhancement.