To explore healthcare professionals’ views of and acceptance of the graduate nurse residency program (GNRP) at Bethesda Children’s Hospital, without evaluating its effectiveness.
Approach:
Study Design: An anonymous, quantitative cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to examine sociodemographic and professional characteristics, attitudes toward the GNRP, and views regarding major program components.
Sample: Among 394 eligible employees, 189 responded, including 84 physicians (44%) and 105 nurses (56%).
Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, factor analysis, and regression analysis were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.
Key Findings:
Overall perceptions of support for the GNRP were favorable, with mean scores between 3 and 4 on a 4-point Likert scale (mean = 3.5, SD = 0.5).
Physicians rated overall support significantly higher than nurses (mean difference = 0.8, p < 0.001).
Ward-level support did not differ significantly between professional groups (p = 0.542).
Overall support was associated with professional role and ward-level support (p < 0.001).
Interpretation:
The study provides preliminary empirical evidence regarding acceptance of the graduate nurse residency program in Hungary.
Limitations:
The study focuses on perceptions rather than evaluating the effectiveness of the GNRP.
The sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings to the broader population.
Conclusion:
Perceptions of the GNRP were favorable, though nurses endorsed it more cautiously than physicians.
Research highlights expanding diagnostic capabilities but persistent gaps in antiviral therapy and vaccine coverage for pediatric enterovirus infections.
