"I felt a sense of belonging somewhere". Supporting graduates' job transitions with WhatsApp groups.

BACKGROUND

Nurse graduates' transition into the world of work is a very challenging phase of professional development. This research examined the affordances of using moderated WhatsApp groups to support nurse graduates in this phase.

APPROACH AND METHODS

Study participants, newly graduated nurses (n = 72) from South Africa, were assigned to two WhatsApp groups. The groups were facilitated by moderators during the 12-week intervention. The intervention was based on a curriculum that incorporated topics related to professional immersion that emerged from a priori needs assessment. Twelve individual interviews were carried out and analysed together with the written conversations from the WhatsApp chats using content analysis as part of an interpretive paradigm.

RESULTS

Three central affordances emerged in the analysis: (1) Instructional: joint learning and cooperative problem solving in-situ; (2) Social: co-constructing proximity and providing motivational and socio-emotional support; (3) Professional: scaffolding job immersion in becoming and being a nurse. Through re-connecting relatable social ties (former students) and tapping into a medium that afforded intimacy, immediacy and high levels of ownership, the intervention offered spatially, socio-culturally and often emotionally 'dislocated' graduates a provisional space to belong to.

CONCLUSIONS

The feasibility and dynamics of supporting graduates in marginalised and remote areas with a facilitated, peer-mediated and WhatsApp-based transition support group are shown; practical recommendations and challenges are discussed.