Ready for What? An Exploration of the Meaning of New Graduate Nurses' Readiness for Practice

Abstract

Dialogue continues on the "readiness" of new graduates for practice despite significant advancements in the foundational educational preparation for nurses. In this paper, the findings from an exploratory study about the meaning of new graduate "readiness" for practice are reported. Data was collected during focus group interviews with one-hundred and fifty nurses and new graduates. Themes were generated using content analysis. Our findings point to agreement about the meaning of new graduate nurses' readiness for practice as having a generalist foundation and some job specific capabilities, providing safe client care, keeping up with the current realities of nursing practice, being well equipped with the tools needed to adapt to the future needs of clients, and possessing a balance of doing, knowing, and thinking. The findings from this exploratory study have implications for policies and programs targeted towards new graduate nurses entering practice.

Undergraduate student nurses’ self-reported preparedness for practice

“…Known as the theory-practice gap, the perception that graduate nurses are under prepared for clinical practice is influenced by a multiplicity of factors, including the divide between the educational institutions and the practice setting, the quality of training opportunities and support in undergraduate clinical placements, and socialisation into the nursing profession (Casey, Fink, Krugman, & Propst, 2004;Delaney, 2003;Edwards et al, 2004;Levett-Jones & Lathlean, 2008;Levett-Jones, Lathlean, Maguire, & McMillan, 2007;Nash, Lemcke, Sacre, 2009;Newton & McKenna, 2007;Olson, 2009;Romyn et al, 2009;Wolff, Regan, Pesut, & Black, 2010). Tertiary nurse education programmes aim to produce novice nurses (Benner, 1984), equipped with the foundational knowledge and skills for registration (NMBA, 2006).…”

New graduates’ readiness for practice in Swaziland: An exploration of stakeholders’ perspectives

“…Although the definition of this concept remains elusive [1,2] , being work ready has generally been defined according to the competencies that new graduates must attain upon completion of training. While the tenets of what constitutes competence or competency also remain debatable [3] , the attributes of a competent nurse graduate generally involve the ability to apply evidence to practice, work collaboratively with other health care professionals, and have critical decision-making and problem solving skills and mindfulness of professional ethics and value of patients [4] .…”

Quiet Lampshade in the Corner? Exploring Fourth Year Nursing Students' Narratives of Transition to Professional Practice

“…Readiness for transition remains underdeveloped conceptually and poorly described, with a focus on readiness as educating nurses "the right way" to meet expectations of employers Wolff, Regan, Pesut, & Black, 2010) in terms of function and competence (Casey, Fink, Krugman, & Propst, 2004;Santucci, 2004). The workplace environment is frequently cited as the reason for job turnover due to difficult caseloads, scheduling, and patient safety issues (Santos, 2002;Pauly, Varcoe, Storch, & Newton, 2009).…”