Aim: To compare student nurses' expectations and newly qualified nurses' experiences regarding clinical practice in Switzerland 1 year after graduation.
Design: A secondary explorative analysis of a cross-sectional survey.
Methods: The data were sourced from the Swiss National Graduate Survey of Health Professionals covering six universities of applied sciences between 2016 and 2019, with information on three cohorts of bachelor student nurses, with a 1-year follow-up between each year. The participants were 533 bachelor-prepared nursing graduates.
Results: The student nurses' overall expectations included the following top two prioritized aspects: 'contributing to something important' and 'adequate time to spend with patients'. Newly graduated nurses' clinical practice experiences demonstrated that not all expectations were met 1 year after graduation. The largest gaps were found in 'adequate time to spend with patients', 'work-life balance' and experiencing 'good management'.
Conclusion: The most crucial expectation gaps are related to having sufficient time to spend with patients and a good work-life balance. The most important result is whether there is a shortage of places for nurses to work rather than the oft-cited shortage of nurses.
Implications for the profession and/or patient care: The expectations of Swiss newly qualified nurses can be better met by an assessment in the first year about which individual perceptions of workplace characteristics cause them to make choices to change something about their work, affect their job satisfaction or influence their intention to stay.
Impact: Few of the student nurses' expectations were met 1 year after graduation, therefore Swiss healthcare institutions should improve needs assessments to strengthen the nurse workforce starting early in employment. The results underscore the importance of a constructive management culture, such as that in magnet hospitals in the United States which underpins the philosophy of changing in nursing. The results can be used internationally as a benchmark and as a basis for introducing potential interventions for nurse retention.
Reporting method: This study was reported following the Standardized Reporting of Secondary Data Analyses Checklist.
Patient or public contribution: There were no patient or public contributions.
Trial and protocol registration: This study has not been registered.
Keywords: career; leadership; nursing profession; nursing shortage; secondary analysis.
© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.