Effects of a Connection-Enhancement Program on Resilience, Stress, Burnout, and Intention to Stay Among Newly Employed Generation Z Nurses in a Military Hospital

Nurses play a critical role in frontline healthcare and directly contribute to the quality of patient care. Newly employed nurses, however, may experience considerable stress during the transition into professional clinical practice. Developing supportive interventions that facilitate workplace adaptation, strengthen resilience, reduce stress and burnout, and promote intention to stay is therefore important for supporting the well-being and professional development of newly employed nurses.

This study is a randomized controlled trial designed to develop and evaluate a connection-enhancement program for newly employed Generation Z nurses working in a military hospital. Approximately 80 eligible nurses will be recruited and randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. Participants in the control group will receive conventional orientation education for newly employed nurses. Participants in the intervention group will receive conventional orientation education plus the connection-enhancement program.

The connection-enhancement program is a four-week intervention designed according to characteristics and needs of Generation Z nurses. The program incorporates technology-assisted learning and emphasizes interpersonal connection, relationship building, resilience, emotional awareness, self-compassion, stress management, and workplace adaptation. The intervention will be delivered by trained research personnel once weekly for approximately 50-60 minutes per session. Sessions may be conducted individually or in groups depending on clinical circumstances and will incorporate presentations, multimedia materials, guided exercises, case-based activities, reflection, and brief discussions.

The first session, "Workplace Adaptation and Stress Awareness for Newly Employed Nurses," focuses on common sources of workplace stress, transition into the professional nursing role, psychological safety, recognition of psychological and physical responses to stress, and basic stress-management concepts.

The second session, "Emotional Awareness and Mindfulness-Based Regulation," introduces emotional awareness and emotion-regulation concepts through multimedia materials and presentations. Participants will also engage in brief mindfulness breathing exercises to enhance awareness of their emotional and physical responses and develop strategies for regulating emotions in stressful situations.