The purpose of this two-phased study was to define the elements in the final clinical practicum (FCP) of nursing education that could facilitate the transition from a nursing student to a registered nurse, and to test the associations between the FCP experience, transition experience and turnover intentions of newly graduated nurses. The ultimate goal of this study was to produce new knowledge about the significance of FCP as part of nursing education that could be utilised in the development of the curriculum, teaching and clinical learning environments, and in enhancing the retention of newly graduated nurses.

In Phase I the transition facilitating elements in FCP were defined by conducting a scoping literature review (n=17 empirical studies) and two qualitative studies that utilised narratives of graduating nursing students (n=16) and individual interviews of newly graduated nurses (n=20). The methods of analysis included content analysis, modulated narrative analysis and the framework method. In Phase II a cross-sectional correlational design was applied to examine the association between the FCP experience, transition experience and turnover intentions of nurses who had graduated within the past two years (n=712). The FCP experience and the emotional, physical, socio-developmental and intellectual domains of transition experience were measured using five instruments. The turnover intentions from job and from profession were addressed using two questions, and multiple potential confounders were considered. The methods of analysis included descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling.

Five main elements were identified that could facilitate the transition from a student to a nurse in FCP: (1) Preparing for the demands of a nurse’s work, (2) being part of a professional team (3) the systematicness of the practicum, (4) teacher involvement and (5) the quality of the supervision. The FCP experience was statistically significantly associated with all four domains of the transition experience as well as the turnover intentions. The association between the FCP experience and turnover intentions was partly mediated by the emotional and socio-developmental domains of the transition.

This study suggests that the FCP of nursing education has several elements, the fulfilment of which can facilitate the transition from nursing student to nurse. Moreover, it seems that having a good FCP experience can promote nurses’ willingness to remain in their jobs and the nursing profession in their early career.