Just weeks after graduation, new nurses immediately become the latest additions to the frontlines of patient care.

Stress caused by long work hours, staff shortages and high levels of turnover sometimes can be too much for nurses entering the profession, up to 60% of whom decide to leave their first full-time nursing job before they have spent a year in the position, according to a recent study published in AORN Journal.

Thanks to new research from the University of Florida College of Nursing, these first-year nurses may soon be supported by initiatives aimed at increasing their job satisfaction, thus improving their retention rates. And in some instances, the support already exists.