http://jnep.sciedupress.com Journal of Nursing Education and Practice 2018, Vol. 8, No. 6 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Challenges of fresh nursing graduates during their transition period Sze Wing Julia Wong * , Wing Sze Wincy Che, Man Ting Crystal Cheng, Ching Ki Cheung, Tsz Yau Jasmin Cheung, Ka Yan Lee, Kin Chi So, Sin Lung Yip Tung Wah College, Hong Kong Received: September 5, 2017 Accepted: December 19, 2017 Online Published: January 2, 2018 DOI: 10.5430/jnep.v8n6p30 URL: https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v8n6p30 ABSTRACT Objective: The shortage of nurses is an overwhelming problem worldwide. Numerous studies indicate that fresh nursing graduates encounter many challenges in their first year after graduation. These difficulties affect their psychological health and influence their perseverance which results in a high resignation rate. Hong Kong is not an exceptional case; therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the challenges encountered by fresh nursing graduates during the transition period in order to provide insights to academics and clinical administrators in order to facilitate the transition and alleviate the negative impacts, thus increasing the retention rate. Methods: This was a qualitative study and eight new nursing graduates (M = 4; F = 4) from the same local higher education institute were interviewed individually. Thematic coding was used to analyse the data. Results: Finally, nine themes were identified including eight areas of challenges and one common attribute. Workload, lack of knowledge, communication, expectation, change of role, working atmosphere, support and a blame/complaint culture are the common areas of challenges that they encounter in the transitional period. Furthermore, this study also found that new nursing graduates possess a common attribute, i.e. positive personal attitude which seems able to enhance their perseverance in this period. Conclusions: The identified themes are interrelated and all the stakeholders should join together and form a cycle of continuous improvement in order to improve the nursing programme and clinical supports to the fresh nursing graduates. Key Words: Fresh nursing graduate, High turnover rate, Retention strategy, Transitional period, Challenges 1. I NTRODUCTION Every nurse has experienced a turning point from being a student nurse to a staff nurse. Nurses need time to adapt to a change of identity, roles, responsibilities and a new environ- ment, particularly when switching from a protected environ- ment where they are supervised by their school teachers to an authentic world where they need to take care of the afflicted. Transition is the process of changing from one state or condi- tion to another; [1] however, the duration of adaptation varies among individuals. According to Duchscher, [2] the transition period refers to the first 12 months after graduation when a student nurse transitions to a qualified nurse. Several studies show that transitional challenges, such as stress and work dis- satisfaction cause fresh nursing graduates to quit their jobs, thereby resulting in a high turnover rate. [2–4] Hong Kong is not an exceptional city. The resignation rate of fresh nursing graduates ranged from 6% to 14.5% from 2011-2013 in a local public hospital. [5] Therefore, this phenomenon calls for an exploration of the challenges encountered by fresh nursing graduates during the transition period in the local * Correspondence: Sze Wing Julia Wong; Email: juliawong@twc.edu.hk; Address: Tung Wah College, Hong Kong. 30 ISSN 1925-4040 E-ISSN 1925-4059