Positive transition to practice experiences for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are important for reducing turnover and maintaining continuity of care for patients. Onboarding programs are an important element of transition to practice experiences, but little is known about what specifically makes certain onboarding programs successful and why.

This brief describes a study that interviewed recent NP and PA hires about their onboarding experiences to identify strategies that health organizations can use to help their employees successful transition.