This descriptive correlational study examined the relationship between transition shock and clinical practice adaptation among nursing students, and tested the moderating effect of simulation-based practice experience. Participants were 179 fourth-yea...
This descriptive correlational study examined the relationship between transition shock and clinical practice adaptation among nursing students, and tested the moderating effect of simulation-based practice experience. Participants were 179 fourth-year nursing students from a university located in J city, and were divided into a pre-simulation group that experienced clinical practice before simulation-based education and a post-simulation group that experienced clinical practice after simulation-based education. Data were collected using a structured online questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS PROCESS Macro (Model 1) to test moderating effects. Higher levels of transition shock were associated with lower levels of clinical practice adaptation. Students with simulation-based practice experience reported significantly lower transition shock and higher clinical practice adaptation than those without such experience. Simulation-based practice experience significantly moderated the relationship between transition shock and clinical practice adaptation, although the increase in explained variance was small. Simple slope analysis showed that, for students with simulation-based practice experience, the negative impact of transition shock on clinical practice adaptation was mitigated compared to those without such experience. These findings suggest that simulation-based practice experience may serve as an effective educational strategy to support nursing students’ adaptation during initial clinical practice. The development of structured simulation programs and replication studies in diverse settings are warranted.