A study of nurse practitioner role transition through examination of the specific relationships of desire for feedback, desire for control, and the number of years of prior registered nurse experience

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is expected to provide 32 million Americans with health insurance increasing the nation's already high demand for primary care. Currently, there is a shortage of primary care physicians, and with fewer medical students choosing to enter the specialty, the shortage is expected to increase in coming years. Nurse practitioners (NP) are being viewed as part of the solution in addressing the nation's healthcare needs. Therefore, it is important to provide support to NPs as they transition into the new role in order for them to become qualified, fully-functioning providers.;The primary purpose of this study was to explore NP role transition and its influencing factors, specifically the relationships among desire for feedback, desire for control, and the number of years of prior registered nurse (RN) experience. A blended theoretical framework of Meleis's Transitions Theory and Nicholson's Theory of Work Role Transitions guided this study. The personal transition conditions and motivational orientations of desire for feedback, desire for control, and the number of years of prior RN experience were examined as possible promoters or inhibitors of the transition experience.;A convenience sample of 352 practicing NPs was recruited from attendees at a national NP conference. NP role transition was measured using the Nurse Practitioner Role Transition Scale. The Desire for Useful information Scale measured desire for feedback, and the Desirability of Control Scale measured desire for control. The number of years of prior RN experience was measured by a single item in the Demographic Survey created for this study.;The data were examined using Pearson's correlations and multiple regression analysis. There were six research questions that focused on the relationships between the variables. The single non-directional hypothesis was the combination of desire for feedback, desire for control, and the number of years of prior RN experience will explain NP role transition better than any one variable alone. Data analysis revealed no statistically significant relationships between the variables, and the regression model did not explain NP role transition better than chance alone (p = .29). Thus, the proposed hypothesis was rejected, and the null hypothesis was accepted. These results indicate that the personal transition conditions of the individual do not explain NP role transition as proposed by the Meleis-Nicholson blended theory.;The results of this study could have important implications for the future of nursing science and research, as well as nursing education, practice, and administration. This study was the first to examine NP role transition via a work role transition perspective, and no prior research directly examined the influence of RN experience. The results of this study may help to inform future curricular changes in efforts to prepare NPs for practice, as well as influence hiring and orientation practices in the clinical setting.