2008 Volume 17 Issue 3 Pages 45-53
In order to clarify and document difficulties experienced by new nurses working night shifts, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight new nurses. Transcribed texts were subjected to an interpretative phenomenological analysis. The experiences of the new nurses were classified into the following five general themes：1） difficulties associated with not being able to see the overall picture of their work, 2） difficulties associated with insufficient preparation, 3） difficulties associated with working with senior nurses, 4） difficulties associated with balancing work and personal life, and 5） difficulties associated with providing nursing care to patients. The results showed that from the perspective of basic nursing education and new nurse orientation, it is useful to provide new nurses with opportunities to gain general knowledge regarding rotating shifts, share experiences with others and receive advice, learn teamwork by collaborating with other nurses, and acquire self-assessment and self-control skills for patient interactions.
