A Profile of Novice and Senior Nurses’ Communication Patterns during the Transition to Practice Period: An Application of the Roter Interaction Analysis System

Novice nurses’ successful transition to practice is impacted by their interactions with senior nurses. Ensuring that novice nurses are adequately supported during their transition to practice has wide-ranging and significant implications. The aim of this study is to explore the communication patterns between novice and senior nurses by applying an interaction analysis technique. Trimonthly onboarding evaluations between novice and senior nurses were recorded. The Roter Interaction Analysis System was adapted and deployed to identify communication patterns. In total, twenty-two interactions were analyzed. Senior nurses spoke more (64.5%). Task-focused exchange was predominant amongst senior (79.7%) and novice (59.5%) nurses. Senior nurses’ talk was concentrated in clusters of information-giving (45%) and advice or instructions (17.2%), while emotional expression (1.4%) and social talk (0.4%) were rare. Novice nurses’ talk was concentrated in clusters-information giving (57%) and positive talk (39.5%). The communication patterns between senior and novice nurses during the onboarding period indicate aspects of novice nurse transition that could be addressed, such as encouraging novice nurses to use these interactions to communicate more, or emphasizing the importance of social talk. These insights can be used to inform mentorship and preceptorship training to ensure that senior nurses are able to adequately support novice nurses through all parts of the transition to practice period.