THE EFFECT OF A SELF-AFFIRMATION BASED TRAINING PROGRAM ON NURSING PROFESSIONAL SELF-EFFICACY AMONG NEWLY GRADUATED NURSES

Abstract

Newly graduated nurses often encounter transition shock and stress during their initial entry into professional practice. This quasi-experimental study employed a two-group pretest-posttest design with a one-month follow-up to examine the effects of a self-affirmation-based training program on nursing professional self-efficacy. Participants were 70 newly graduated nurses recruited through purposive sampling and assigned to an experimental group (n = 35) and a control group (n = 35). Research instruments included the Nursing Professional Self-Efficacy Scale (Cronbach’s alpha = .84) and a 6-week training program. Data were analyzed using a two-way mixed repeated measures ANOVA. The results revealed a significant interaction between time and group (F(1.82, 123.96) = 6.489, p = .003), with a medium-to-large effect size (Partial Eta Squared = .087). The experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in self-efficacy from pre-test (M = 81.02, SD = 11.58) to post-test (M = 90.41, SD = 9.72) and maintained improvement at the one-month follow-up (M = 87.55, SD = 12.11). In contrast, the control group showed no significant changes across the three time points. These findings demonstrate that the self-affirmation training program is effective for empowering new nurses beyond standard practice. Integrating self-affirmation strategies into hospital orientation programs is recommended to bolster early-career confidence and support a successful transition.

Keywords: Self-Affirmation, Nursing Professional Self-Efficacy, Training Program, Newly Graduated Nurses