Embracing Growth, Adaptability, Challenges, and Lifelong Learning: A Qualitative Study Examining the Lived Experience of Early Career Nurses.

Healthcare is a dynamic environment for nurses, with early career nurses (ECNs) needing to adapt and learn while also meeting care demands. Effective support systems, mentorship, and continuous professional development are vital in facilitating their transition while navigating competing demands. The aim of this study is to interpret and understand the meaning of ECNs' professional experiences four years after completing their bachelor's degree in Australia. A qualitative descriptive design using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used as part of a longitudinal study. Follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted among twenty-five ECNs between 2022 and 2024 using purposive sampling to recruit ECNs who had graduated four years ago. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data while adhering to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines. Four themes emerged among participants, which encompassed professional growth and unwavering commitment, ongoing professional adaptability, feeling stuck with limited choices, and continual learning amid career challenges and personal life demands. Change is needed to ensure professional learning becomes a shared responsibility among policy makers and healthcare leaders and to ensure that professional learning leads to more nurses taking up further study, thus increasing the safety and quality of care delivered in the healthcare environment.