RESUMO
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting practice among newly registered nurses' in medical/surgical settings at public hospitals across Trinidad and Tobago. Design and Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done which documented the responses of the newly registered nurses at five hospitals in Trinidad. 163 of the estimated 224 new nurses volunteered and were recruited by filling out the researchers'- designed questionnaire on the 3 areas affecting their practice (knowledge, support and experience). SPSS was used for the data analysis. Results: The overall response rate was 69.7%. Results show that the new nurses have a mean scores of 3.64 for Knowledge of a maximum of 5, followed by their Experience (3.57) and support 3.29 from a maximum of 5. Also their scores in experience were significantly related to their education and Hospital of employment (p≤0.05); while their scores on support were significantly associated with their School of training (p≤0.05); period of employment (p≤0.05); and Hospital of employment (p≤0.05). Also their mean scores on Experience was significantly related to their hospital of employment (p≤0.05). Conclusion: The findings showed that support received by the newly registered nurses was the factor that mostly affected their practice. Mentorship for newly registered nurses is a recommended tool to enhance their practice following Benner's theory which explains how to transition newly registered nurses from novice to expert in practice.
