Transition Shock among New Graduate Nurses Directly Assigned to Emergency Departments: Levels, Differences, and Predictors

Abstract

Background: Newly graduated nurses entering emergency departments may experience transition shock while adapting to professional responsibilities, workload and high-acuity clinical demands. This study examined transition-shock levels, group differences and associations with selected demographic and work-related characteristics among nurses directly assigned to emergency practice. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study included 111 newly graduated registered nurses from selected private tertiary hospitals in Metro Manila, Philippines. Transition shock was assessed using the 18-item Transition Shock Scale for Newly Graduated Nurses, scored on a four-point scale. Descriptive statistics summarised the responses. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests assessed unadjusted differences, and multiple linear regression examined age category, sex, clinical-experience category and hospital bed-capacity category simultaneously. Results: The mean transition-shock score was 2.33 (SD = 0.72). Feeling overwhelmed by excessive workload received the highest item score (M = 3.08, SD = 0.75). Unadjusted comparisons by age, sex, clinical experience and hospital bed capacity were not statistically significant. The overall regression model was also not significant, F(4, 106) = 2.205, p = .073, explaining 7.7% of observed score variance (adjusted R² = .042). The adjusted age-category coefficient was negative (B = −0.217, p = .008), but its interpretation was constrained by ordinal coding, the small oldest age group and incomplete regression diagnostics. Conclusion: Workload was the leading reported concern. The findings do not establish causal relationships or support demographic-based risk classification.