Transition Shock Among Nursing Interns: Roles of Achievement Motivation and Clinical Practice Environment—A Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT Aims To examine the relationships between achievement motivation, clinical practice environment and nursing interns' transition shock. Design A descriptive cross‐sectional study with an online survey. Methods This study included 343 nursing interns from practice hospitals across six Chinese provinces. Data were collected via convenience sampling from June to September 2022. A researcher‐designed sociodemographic questionnaire covering key demographic and internship‐related characteristics was administered alongside three validated instruments: the Achievement Motivation Scale, the Clinical Practice Environment Scale and the Transition Shock Scale. Data were analysed through univariate analysis, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The STROBE checklist was adhered to for reporting. Results Conflict between theory and practice was the most prominent aspect of transition shock among nursing interns. Multiple linear regression analysis identified achievement motivation, clinical practice environment, attitudes towards the nursing profession, educational level and the average number of overtime hours per week since internship as influencing factors of nursing interns' transition shock, explaining 30% of the total variance. Conclusions This study underscores the critical role of strong achievement motivation and a supportive clinical practice environment in mitigating transition shock among nursing interns. Implications for the Profession Nursing interns often experience transition shock due to the mismatch between theory and practice, which hinders their readiness for professional nursing roles. Our findings provide important insights for nursing educators and administrators in developing tailored interventions to reduce transition shock. Nursing educators and administrators should incorporate guidelines to boost nursing interns' achievement motivation into education programmes and develop a clinical environment improvement plan that focuses on creating a harmonious and positive learning and working environment through continuous consultation. Public Contribution Throughout the data collection procedure, nursing interns' feedback was used to help evaluate study techniques and interpret findings.