Abstract
Performance expectations are a critical issue in the transition from student to practising nurse for both nurses and their employers. We conducted a study to compare self-reported changes in both frequency and quality of performance of nursing behaviours in a cohort of Aotearoa/New Zealand recently graduated nurses undertaking a one year entry to practice programme. Thirty-three nurses were surveyed, seven weeks after beginning the programme and again seven months later, using a modified version of Schwirian’s (1978) Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (6-DSNP). Over the study period participants reported significant increases in frequency of performance for the domains of leadership, critical care, teaching/collaboration, and planning/evaluation. Significant increases in the quality of nurse behaviours in the domains of critical care, planning/evaluation and interpersonal relations/communication were also reported. The modified Schwirian 6-DSNP was found to be a useful instrument for measuring nurses’ self reporting of performance during periods of transition.

Keywords 
Longitudinal survey, new graduate nurse, nursing performance

Introduction
This longitudinal cohort study examined self-reported changes in nursing performance for newly graduated nurses during their first year of practice. This period is a critical time as newly qualified nurses seek to apply knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours learned during their undergraduate programme to their practice as registered nurses (KPMG Consulting 2001; Ministerial Taskforce on Nursing, 1998). Transition from student to qualified practitioner has been a nursing concern internationally, and in Aotearoa/New Zealand, for at least the past 25 years (Horsburgh, 1989; KPMG Consulting, 2001; McCloskey, 1983; Ministerial Taskforce on Nursing, 1998; Prebble & McDonald, 1997; Schwirian, 1978; Walker & Bailey, 1999). Longitudinal studies have suggested that selfreported performance of newly graduated nurses improved during their first year of practice (Battersby & Hemmings, 1991; Bellinger & McCloskey, 1992). Furthermore in studies where both employers and newly graduated nurses are surveyed the difference between the two perceptions of the graduates’ performance decreases during the first year (Failla, Maher & Duffy, 1999; Vanetzian & Higgins, 1990; Walker & Bailey, 1999). Employers’ perceptions were closer to those of the nurses’. The present study aimed to quantify self-reported changes in frequency (how often) and quality (how well) of nursing behaviours performed by a cohort of newly graduated nurses employed in a large Aotearoa/New Zealand metropolitan hospital. An internationally validated instrument, Schwirian’s (1978) Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (6- DSNP), was modified for the Aotearoa/ New Zealand context. The nurses’ performance was measured seven weeks after beginning an entry into practice programme and again seven months later.