Experienced professional staff transitions in health care organizations: Developing outstanding professional and personal relationships in the workplace

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the perceived importance of establishing outstanding professional and personal relationships when transitioning into a new organization. Professionals from the Department of Defense (DOD) health care community participated in this study. The principle finding of this study is that by rapidly establishing both professional and personal relationships, these professionals believe they will become effective sooner in their new organizations. Thus, they would be able to accomplish more within their limited tenure. Secondary results of this research are the definitions of outstanding professional and personal relationships, the characteristics that comprise these relationships and a limited quantification of the importance of these relationships within and between the professional and personal relationship, established through using the Baumgardner Matrix methodology. Lastly, a strategy on how to achieve these relationships is indicated.