The Process of Change of Mid-career Nurses as Trainers of Junior Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate how mid-career nurses evolve as trainers of junior nurses.

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 nurses who had worked for 8 to 19 years. The interviews were conducted with one nurse at a time, ensuring privacy. A modified grounded theory approach was used for data collection and analysis.

Results: We extracted 16 concepts and generated 6 categories from these concepts. Throughout the process of nurturing junior nurses, nurses were "seeking out their own course of action." When the nurses began training junior nurses, they "instruct[ed] junior nurses while continuing to learn themselves." Occasionally, while "sharing their feelings," the nurses sometimes would show "considering the feelings of junior nurses" and "supporting the subjectivity of junior nurses." Finally, in training junior nurses, they were transformed by "being extremely generous."

Conclusion: Nurses' practice regarding training junior nurses was based on nurses "seeking out their own course of action" from the initial to final stages of the process. This practice eventually transformed into nurses being generous and adopting more forgiving behaviors. It was suggested that the transformation in nurses' practice regarding guiding junior nurses involved and was influenced by persistent reflection and the influence of the chief nurse and other colleagues.