An ethnographic study of the new graduate nurse’s experience when encountering the culture of acute mental health services

This is an ethnographic study involving the observation of new graduate nurses as they encounter the culture of mental health nursing during their first year of practice.. This study will involve two phases - phase I: non-participant observation of new graduate nurses in the staff-only areas of each acute inpatient unit chosen; and phase II: semi-structured interviews of new graduate nurses as well as a group of recently graduate nurses (nurses who have graduated in the last 5 years). For phase I - up to 24 new graduate nurses will be invited to participate and will be asked to allow 6 hours of observation (in 2 hour blocks) by the researcher over a period of approximately 7 months. This will occur in staff-only areas of acute mental health inpatient units. No consumers of mental health care will be included in the study. The observation will largely focus on the interactions between new graduate nurses and their colleagues. For phase II - up to 30 participants will be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews. The primary participants will include the new graduate nurses invited to participate in phase I, and an additional number of recent graduate nurses (those who have graduated in the last five years) to increase the depth of findings. Participants in phase II will be asked questions around their experiences of transitioning into the culture and practice of mental health nursing.