ArticleBMC nursing2026
Latent profiles of career growth among early-career operating room nurses: a cross-sectional study informed by Conservation of Resources theory.
Article in BMC nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEarly-career operating room nurses work in highly technical, high-demand environments and are at elevated risk of stress, stalled development and turnover. Yet little is known about how their career growth patterns differ, or which resource configurations are associated with more favorable profiles. Guided by Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study aimed to (1) identify latent profiles of career growth among early-career operating room nurses and (2) examine how COR-based foundational resource indicators and selected work-related psychological and organisational variables are associated with these profiles.
methodsWe conducted a multicenter cross-sectional online survey between March and August 2025 among early-career operating room nurses working in tertiary hospitals in Zhejiang Province, China. Using multicentre convenience sampling, 516 nurses from 102 hospitals provided valid responses. Career growth was assessed using the Career Growth of Nurses Scale. Guided by COR theory, resource-related indicators and selected work-related psychological and organisational variables were examined in relation to profile membership. Latent profile analysis was used to identify distinct career growth profiles. Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between resource variables and profile membership, with statistical significance set at α = 0.05.
resultsA three-profile solution provided the best fit to the data. We identified three latent classes based on cross-sectional response patterns: a lower-level uneven group (C1, n = 66, 12.8%), a moderate-level balanced group (C2, n = 238, 46.1%), and a higher-level comprehensive group (C3, n = 212, 41.1%). Compared with C1, formal employment contracts, employment in higher-tier hospitals, higher monthly income, better self-rated health, and stronger interest in the nursing profession were cross-sectionally associated with higher odds of membership in C2 and C3. Higher thriving at work, organisational commitment, and perceived organisational career management were also cross-sectionally associated with membership in the more favorable profiles. The examined object resource (homeownership status) was not associated with profile membership in the univariate analysis and was therefore not retained in the adjusted model.
conclusionsEarly-career operating room nurses showed heterogeneous patterns of career growth, which could be classified into three profiles: a lower-level uneven profile, a moderate-level balanced profile, and a higher-level comprehensive profile. Multiple resource-related indicators were associated with more adaptive profile membership among early-career operating room nurses. These findings suggest that career growth is linked to the combined influence of employment, organisational, health, motivational, and work-related psychological factors rather than any single dominant factor. Nurse managers can use these findings to design resource-focused strategies and targeted development programs to support sustainable career growth and retention among early-career operating room nurses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.