From silenced shock to strategic resilience: a longitudinal qualitative study of nurse residents’ trajectory in coping with patient verbal abuse

BackgroundIn China, newly graduated nurses are required to complete a standardized 1-year clinical residency, a transition marked by high stress and limited authority. Patient verbal abuse is common and often normalized as “part of the job,” yet it can destabilize emotions and shape early career trajectories. Longitudinal evidence on how nurse residents interpret and cope with patient verbal abuse across their first year remains limited. Grounded in Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory, th