| With nurses leaving the acute care setting in greater numbers (American Nurses Association [ANA], 1996; Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], 2000), many nurses look to the community and home as a setting for professional practice. However, there is a void in the existing research that describes how acute care nurses successfully transition to home health care practice.; The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate a theory of how professional nurses successfully transition from the acute care setting to the setting of home health care. The participants in this study were obtained by purposeful and theoretical sampling and included 12 home health nurses and two home health administrators. Data collection consisted of demographic and survey information, audiotaped interviews, transcripts of those interviews, researcher field notes and memos, and participants' writings. Data collection and analysis were performed using the constant comparative method and progressed through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding according to Strauss and Corbin's method (1998b).; Findings from the inquiry revealed a substantive theory that accounted for the successful transition from acute care practice to home health practice. The substantive theory that emerged, the Hartung Theory of Successful Transitioning, explicated the context and conditions that gave rise to the impetus for change, the core category, the actions/interactions, and the consequences of successful transitioning.; The core category, Journey from Ideal to Reality in Home Health Practice, began with a sequence of activities in choosing home health and proceeded through the three phases of successful transition: information marathon, closing the gaps, and crossing the goal line. Concomitant to the progression throughout the three phases of successful transition were strategies to help transitioning. The consequences of successful transition were the competence of home health skills and knowledge, functioning in the home health role, role acceptance and integration, firm commitment to home health, a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction, and an improvement in quality of life.; The findings from this research have implications for nursing practice, administration, education, and research. |
