Supporting New Graduate Nurses’ Information Seeking: Perspectives of Nurse Managers and Senior Nurses in Japanese Hospitals

Background/Objectives: Effective information seeking is essential for new graduate nurses’ adaptation to the workplace. The objective of this study was to identify how nurse managers and senior nurses support new graduate nurses’ information seeking and the expectations underlying such support. Methods: Nurse managers and senior nurses from Japanese hospitals participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis by coding meaningful units, grouping similar codes into subcategories, and organizing them into broader categories. Ethical approval was obtained from the research ethics committee of the first author’s institution, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Results: Participants included twelve nurse managers from five hospitals and fourteen senior nurses from three hospitals. The nurse managers had an average of 7.4 years of supervisory experience, and the senior nurses had an average of 14.2 years of clinical experience. Participants expected new graduate nurses to demonstrate appropriate attitudes toward seeking information, engage in proactive communication to express their needs or uncertainties, take initiative in seeking and obtaining information, and build relationships with senior nurses that would facilitate information seeking. To support these expectations, participants adopted approaches that encouraged information seeking, proactively provided necessary information, and promoted information sharing among peers. Nurse managers also sought to create a work environment in which all staff members collectively nurtured new graduate nurses. Conclusions: To facilitate information seeking among new graduate nurses, nurse managers and senior nurses need to foster a supportive work environment. They also need to recognize the information content, sources, tactics, and timing appropriate for new graduate nurses.