The Experiences of Newly Employed Nurses When Facing Stress

Objective: To explore the experiences of newly employed nurses when facing stress. Materials and Methods: Nurses who had recently graduated from a university nursing school in northern Taiwan were surveyed. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, fact-to-face interviews were conducted for this research. Sampling and analytical methods of Grounded Theory were used to realize newly employed nurses' experience when faced with job stress. Results: The thoughts and behaviors of newly employed nurses could be described as confirmative, comparative, expectant thoughts, and reactive and controllable behavior. According to the findings of this research, the author built up the " Autonomy Protective Theory for Newly Employed Nurses". These findings showed that the time factor plays an important role in reducing the intensity of stress. The newly employed could realize their stressors and status. Subjects continued to adjust themselves by analyzing their personal objective indicators. Subjects were able to figure out their own strategies for coping with stress such that they were able to master their working situations. Conclusion: It is highly recommended that programs describing stressor coping skills be delivered by teachers and senior staff. Career and placement education programs should be given earlier, as it would be helpful to integrate these projects into routine nursing courses.