What newly licensed registered nurses have to say about their first experiences

To understand factors that promote retention of Newly Licensed Registered Nurses (NLRNs) and those that contribute to turnover, a survey of a national sample of NLRNs was conducted. This article describes the content analysis of 612 NLRN comments about their work life. Using Krippendorff's¹ technique, 5 themes were discovered. Colliding expectations describes conflicts between nurses' personal view of nursing and their lived experience. The need for speed describes the pressure related to a variety of temporal issues. You want too much expresses the pressure and stress NLRNs feel personally and professionally. How dare you describes unacceptable communication patterns between providers. Change is on the horizon suggests optimism for the future as NLRNs speak of transforming the systems where care is provided. This content analysis reveals that the working environment where NLRNs begin their career is in need of reform. Suggestions are offered from the nurses themselves.