Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research study is to determine if a support intervention delivered through electronic messages, email, website content and activities helps maintain resilience and compassion satisfaction and prevent burnout in nurses during their first year of practice.  Research studies are voluntary and include only people who choose to take part. Participants have asked to participate in this study because they are a newly graduated Registered Nurse beginning your professional practice. The study is being conducted throughout the United States and will follow participants during their first year of professional practice.

The principal investigator in charge of this study is Laura Sessions PhD, RN. If you have any questions about the study, you are encouraged to reach out to her and the research team with your questions.  She can be reached at the contact information listed below
Laura Sessions PhD,  email at lsessions@Towson.edu or
nnsn_support@prestonInformatics.com

Procedures: If you agree to be in this study, the following will happen:   Some participants (the intervention group) will receive a bi-weekly  message aimed at supporting your wellbeing, resilience, and compassion satisfaction or preventing burnout. These participants will also be encouraged to visit a private, member only website that provides evidence-based information to support them during the first year of practice. This website contains a message board, surveys, and structured prompts where participants may share their experiences and feelings. These postings will be analyzed qualitatively. Participants are not required to post on the message board.

Those who are not selected for the intervention will have access to the website and support resources after all data collection is finished, approximately one year after the start of the study. Those in the control group will receive monthly text messages about nursing practice.

All participants will complete a survey about their resilience, compassion satisfaction, and burnout at three time periods: at the start of the study, between 5-7 months of practice, and at one year of practice.

After the completion of the first survey, you will be asked if you would like to participate in three focus group sessions to discuss resilience, compassion satisfaction, and burnout. Participation in the focus group is not required, and you may still participate in the study without participating in the focus groups. If you agree to participate in the focus group, you will receive a separate consent form for that part of the study.

Text Messaging Consent: Participants may opt-in to the NNSN text messaging program which sends non-commercial, research-related text messages consisting of  text reminders of upcoming surveys, featured content and activities sent to the participants cell phones up to 4 per month.   “Message and data rates may apply”  Participants will fill in a pdf Text Messaging Consent form providing their name and phone number and agreeing to the terms and condition and privacy policy of the NNSN messaging policy. Messaging opt-in is voluntary.

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: To participate in this study, you must be 18 years old or older, a registered nurse who passed their licensing exam (NCLEX) within the last three months and have been employed as a registered nurse for less than 30 days. To participate, you must have a Google account.  and an email account.

Risks/Discomfort: There is minimal risk for participants in this study. There is a small risk that answering questions about your resilience, compassion satisfaction, and burnout may cause emotional distress. If you are feeling any distress, we encourage you to reach out to your Employee Assistance Program (if available). You may also want to contact your personal physician. You may also call 988, the confidential Suicide and Crisis lifeline for immediate emotional support.

Benefits: There are no direct benefits to you from participating in this study. As a Registered Nurse, you may become more reflective about your professional life. It is hoped that the information gained from the study will help nurse administrators and educators to better support new nurses as they transition to practice.

Alternatives to Participation: Participation is voluntary. You have the right to withdraw or discontinue your involvement in the study at any time.

This research study has received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval through Towson University and follows all federal and ethical guidelines for human subjects research. All participants provide documented informed consent prior to enrollment, which explicitly includes permission to share their mobile phone number and to receive study-related messages. Message frequency is limited and predefined as part of the IRB-approved research protocol.  If  you enroll in text message please be aware: Message and data rates may apply. Text messaging is a core, IRB-approved component of the research intervention, participation is encouraged and is used to deliver scheduled, non-commercial messages that support participant wellbeing and professional resilience. Participation is entirely voluntary, participants may opt out or withdraw at any time. No marketing, solicitation, or data sharing with third parties occurs. All communications are limited in frequency, content is predefined in the approved protocol, and participant confidentiality is strictly protected in accordance with Towson University data security standards