ArticleEducationRefinement and validation of the Work Readiness Scale for graduate nurses
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were 450 graduate nurses recruited over a 3-year period (2012–2014) from four health organizations located in regional and metropolitan Victoria, Australia. Participants were recruited during graduate nurse study days held at the commencement of the graduate nurse year-long program at each participating organization. The study involved 426 women and 22 men, which is below the average 10% of male nurses in Australia (Health Workforce Australia, 2013). The mean age of the
Results
A series of exploratory factor analyses with maximum likelihood estimation and oblique rotation were conducted to establish a stable factor structure of the revised WRS-GN. The participant sample of 450 was in excess of the minimum five cases per variable ratio (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995). As recommended by Coakes (2013), the factorability of each data set was established by examining the correlation matrix, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy, and the Bartlett test
Discussion
The purpose of the current study was to refine and validate the revised WRS-GN using a cross section of graduate nurses. The iterative process of exploratory factor and item analyses indicated that the optimal solution was a four-factor model. The model confirmed the theoretical constructs from previous literature (Caballero et al., 2011, Walker et al., 2013) and the validity of the revised WRS-GN. Furthermore, the current study reduced the number of items in the revised WRS-GN from 60 to 46,
Conclusion
To date, there has been limited empirical research on the construct of work readiness. A possible reason for this is that work readiness, as a construct, is still within the early stages of development. However, the results of the current study provide initial support for the characteristics and attributes previously identified by researchers as indicative of work readiness for graduate nurses. This study provides a foundation on which future research can build and further refine the construct
References (34)
- et al.
The nursing shortage: Part way down the slippery slope
Collegian
(2003) - et al.
Expectations and perceptions of graduates' performance at the start and at the end of their graduate year
Collegian
(2003) Employer satisfaction with graduate skills: Research report
(2000)- et al.
An institutional approach to developing students ‘transferable’ skills
Innovations in Education and Training International
(2000) - et al.
Reflective thinking scale: A validity and reliability study
Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice
(2013) - et al.
Generic Capabilities of ATN university graduates
(2000) - et al.
First job experiences of recent RN graduates
Journal of Nursing Administration
(2005) The graduate attributes we’ve overlooked: Enhancing graduate employability through career management skills
Higher Education Research & Development
(2009)- et al.
Work readiness in graduate recruitment and selection: A review of current assessment methods
Journal of Teaching & Learning for Graduate Employability
(2010) - et al.
The work readiness scale (WRS): Developing a measure to assess work readiness in college graduates
Journal of Teaching & Learning for Graduate Employability
(2011)
Are they really ready to work? Employers' perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants to the 21st century US workforce
Workplace empowerment, work engagement and organizational commitment of new graduate nurses
Nursing Leadership
SPSS Version 20.0 for Windows: Analysis without Anguish
Are Australian practitioners homogeneous with regard to their expectations of marketing graduates?
Transition shock: The initial stage of role adaptation for newly graduated registered nurses
Journal of Advanced Nursing
A process of becoming: The stages of new nursing graduate professional role transition
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing
University challenge: Graduates aren't the elite they once were. You have to be selective
Cited by (60)
Work readiness of pharmacy graduates: An exploratory study.
2024, Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social PharmacyFactors related to readiness for practice among undergraduate nursing students: A systematic review
2023, Nurse Education in PracticeThe impact of changes in nursing practicum caused by COVID-19 pandemic on new graduate nurses
2023, Nurse Education TodayGraduate nurses' capability upon entering the workforce: An integrative review
2023, Nurse Education TodayCitation Excerpt :In this review, personal attributes relate to individual qualities and traits that may or may not be acquired by formal education. The majority of the studies included in this review (14 papers) highlighted that emotional intelligence, positive attitude, and enthusiasm are expected qualities for graduate nurses entering the workforce (Berkow et al., 2008; Bromley, 2015; Brown and Crookes, 2016; Ehrenberg et al., 2016; Harrison et al., 2019; Leufer and Cleary-Holdforth, 2020; Lin et al., 2016; Missen et al., 2015; Patterson et al., 2008; Scott et al., 2010; Walker and Campbell, 2013; Walker et al., 2015). Other desirable personal attributes included willingness and ability to seek support (Walker and Campbell, 2013; Walker et al., 2015; Wangensteen et al., 2010; Wolff et al., 2010a; Wolff et al., 2010b) and apply critical thinking (Berkow et al., 2008; Bromley, 2015; Brown and Crookes, 2016; Harrison et al., 2019; Lee et al., 2019; Lin et al., 2016; Missen et al., 2015; Patterson et al., 2008; Scott et al., 2010; Walker et al., 2015; Wangensteen et al., 2010; Wolff et al., 2010a; Wolff et al., 2010b) as well as a holistic vision (Berkow et al., 2008; Bromley, 2015; Patterson et al., 2008; Wolff et al., 2010a), inquisitiveness (Bromley, 2015; Brown and Crookes, 2016; Ehrenberg et al., 2016; Lin et al., 2016; Missen et al., 2015; Patterson et al., 2008; Rochester et al., 2005; Walker and Campbell, 2013; Wangensteen et al., 2010; Wolff et al., 2010a), reflectivity and self-awareness (Berkow et al., 2008; Bromley, 2015; Brown and Crookes, 2016; Lin et al., 2016; Patterson et al., 2008; Rochester et al., 2005; Scott et al., 2010; Walker et al., 2015; Wolff et al., 2010a).