Transitioning of Registered General Nurses to Nurse Managers—A Quantitative Study in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Background: Globally, transitioning is inevitably marked by shifts from one phase to another, reflecting varied life changes. These transitions, identified in diverse studies, encompass positive, negative, or nonevent occurrences and profoundly influence individuals’ psychological processes as they adapt to external changes. Using Schlossberg’s transition theory as the organizing framework, the transitioning of registered general nurses (RGNs) to nurse managers (NMs) in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana was studied. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the transitioning of NMs. Multistage sampling was utilized to select 103 NMs from the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Results: NMs moving through transition was efficient to a large extent with a mean score of 3.64 (SD = 0.54), the overall mean score obtained for moving out (taking charge) of transitions was 4.07 (SD = 0.68). Moving through was related to moving out (r = 0.29, p < 0.05), strategies (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), support (r = 0.52, p < 0.001), self (r = 0.77, p < 0.001), and situation (r = 0.65, p < 0.001). Finally, moving out was found to be positively and significantly related to three other scores: strategies (r = 0.41, p < 0.001), support (r = 0.52, p < 0.001), and self (r = 0.77, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study concluded that NMs received support in this current study, which is in contrast to other studies. RGNs faced certain challenges in transitioning to NMs primarily related to planning, but they demonstrated high degrees of optimism and control. Additionally, actively “taking charge” of the transition is successful when strategies such as seeking advice and negotiation are employed.