Nursing Students’ Educational Needs for Successful Transition to Practice: A Phenomenological Study

Grounded in Meleis’ Transition Theory and Duchscher’s Transition Shock Model, this phenomenological study explored the educational needs of nursing students for a successful transition to professional practice in South Korea. Data were collected through focus group interviews with 14 fourth-year nursing students from two private nursing colleges and analyzed using Colaizzi’s method. The study examined how students understood curricular and pedagogical gaps in undergraduate education that hindered early professional adjustment after graduation. Four theme clusters emerged: identity formation and professional values, humanistic and foundational knowledge, practical competences for patient care, and readiness for social adaptation. Collectively, these themes indicated that students perceived readiness for practice as requiring integrated preparation across reflective professional development, humanistic understanding, clinical performance, and adaptation to workplace and life demands. Students emphasized the need for structured self-reflection and role modeling, broader humanistic and communication-oriented learning, realistic simulation with clear goals and feedback, and support for financial independence, mentorship, and adaptation to hierarchical workplace culture. The findings suggest that readiness for practice is shaped not only by technical competence but also by professional identity, ethical and interpersonal understanding, and sociocultural preparedness. Nursing curricula should therefore move beyond task-based training to provide theoretically informed support for reflective learning, realistic rehearsal, communication, and transition to organizational realities. Such curricular reform may strengthen preparedness for clinical practice, reduce transition-related stress, and support smoother adjustment to contemporary nursing work.