# Transition Shock Among Chinese New Nurses: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

## TL;DR

Chinese new nurses experience high transition shock, influenced by personal and work-related factors, requiring targeted interventions to improve their well-being and retention.

## Contribution

This study systematically reviews and meta-analyzes transition shock in Chinese new nurses, identifying 20 specific influencing factors.

## Key findings

- Transition shock score among Chinese new nurses is moderate-to-high (93.08).
- Both personal and external factors significantly influence transition shock (p < 0.05).
- Targeted interventions are recommended to reduce transition shock and improve nursing workforce stability.

## Abstract

To investigate the current level and influencing factors of transition shock among new nurses in China.

New nurses in China face multiple transition shock, which make them prone to burnout and more likely to leave the profession. A systematic analysis of their current status and influencing factors is needed to enhance their occupational well‐being and stabilize the nursing workforce.

Computer searches were conducted to retrieve the literature on the current status and factors affecting the impact of the transition of new nurses in China from Chinese databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), as well as international databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Meta‐analysis was performed by using Stata 17.0 and RevMan 5.3 software.

A total of 30 articles involving 12,459 Chinese new nurses were included, and 20 influencing factors were extracted. Meta‐analysis results showed that the transition shock score was 93.08 (95% CI: 87.28–98.89). The influencing factors of transition shock among new nurses in China include both personal factors (female, nonlocal origin, college degree or below, disliking or feeling neutral toward their department, choosing the nursing profession due to nonpersonal interests, low professional identity, poor psychological resilience, infrequent feedback‐seeking behavior, and service length ≤ 6 months) and external factors (nonestablishment employment type, monthly income ≤ 5000 RMB, > 7 night shifts per month, lack of family support for nursing work, and low social support) (p < 0.05).

The transition shock of new nurses in China is at a moderate‐to‐high level and is influenced by multiple personal and work‐related factors. Nursing managers should develop targeted interventions based on these influencing factors to alleviate transition shock, improve new nurses’ career satisfaction, and enhance the quality of nursing services.