Abstract
Background
Early-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.Methods
We 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.Results
A 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.Conclusions
Early-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.