Abstract

This dissertation is an exploration of psychosocial concepts related to the experiences of a vital health human resource, newly licensed registered nurses. Newly licensed registered nurses are at risk for leaving their first job within the first year due to the difficulty of transitioning to practice. The pressure to gain competence and deliver quality care, all while navigating the workplace environment, can impact their commitment to an organization and the profession. The reader will notice these concepts threaded throughout the dissertation. While these concepts are explored in other nursing workforce populations, the researcher determined a gap in the research on newly licensed registered nurses participating in a nurse residency program. The first manuscript, Defining Competence and its Relevance to Quality Care in Nursing, provides a non-traditional analysis of the concept of competence while relating the focal points of competence to quality care. Organizational Commitment in Newly Licensed Registered Nurses is the second manuscript in this portfolio dissertation. This manuscript, written as a literature review, provides insight into the factors that impact organizational commitment and the implications of the findings. The fourth chapter presents the primary research project undertaken. Using a national database of a nurse residency program, a hypothetical model is tested to determine the effect several antecedent variables have on organizational commitment. Further analysis reveals the impact organizational commitment has on turnover intent and actual job turnover. In completing this dissertation, the researcher was able to contribute to the research on nursing workforce and transition to practice issues.

Date of publication

Spring 4-28-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/563

Committee members

Susan Yarbrough, Zhaomin He, Jerri Post, Dora Bradley

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing

Download

Share

COinS