Effects of a Blended Learning Program for New Nurses on Grit, Job Crafting, and Learning Transfer

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a blended learning program for newly graduated nurses.Data were collected from March 1 to August 1, 2023.The participants were 84 newly graduated nurses working at a university hospital located in one region.The blended learning program was implemented sequentially.The online component consisted of two weeks of self-directed learning using a mobile application on each participant's personal smartphone.The offline component was conducted over two weeks as face-to-face group education, during which participants reviewed and deepened their learning from the online sessions.The blended learning program consisted of seven sessions, including lectures, practice, and simulation-based training.The topics of each session were as follows: (1) introduction to the hospital and organizational understanding, (2) patient safety, (3) infection control in hospital settings, (4) medication management, (5) emergency response, (6) use of medical equipment, and (7) operation of medical devices and systems.Data were analyzed using SPSS version 29.0, employing descriptive statistics and paired t-tests.The results showed that the level of grit among newly graduated nurses increased significantly after the intervention.Among the subdimensions of grit , "consistency of interests" did not show a significant change, whereas "perseverance of effort" did (t = -3.145,p = .002;t = -0.967,p = .336;t = -4.057,p < .001).Job crafting among newly graduated nurses also increased significantly overall; specifically, cognitive and relational crafting showed significant improvement, whereas task crafting did not (t = -2.804,p = .006;t = -2.163,p = .033;t = -2.603,p = .011;t = -1.000,p = .320).However, learning transfer did not show a statistically significant change (t = 0.763, p = .448).This study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of a blended learning program in enhancing grit and job crafting among newly graduated nurses.It is suggested that future programs should be refined to further strengthen the consistency of interests component of grit, the task crafting dimension of job crafting, and learning transfer.Furthermore, future research should