Graduation Speech : Nursing Mentoring

McKenna, L., & Newton, J. M. (2009). After the graduate year: a phenomenological exploration of how new nurses develop their knowledge and skill over the first 18 months following graduation. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxymu.wrlc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=57a243af-c0d3-4f81-addf-041456493db3%40sessionmgr4005&vid=1&hid=4206

In Australia Registered nurses are primarily obtained from recently graduated university who has successfully finished a three years of education in the bachelor of nursing. New graduates student nurse are very significant to the healthcare sector. The transition from new graduate to registered nurse is challenging which requires support from the entire medical team. The aim of this paper is to explore the transition from student nurse to registered nurse. The paper will focus on the theme skills transition into practice and other issues during the transition.

As Finkelman (2006) stated, “Mentoring, and important career development to that can be used by nurses any type of set or specialty, can be used to develop the critical leadership skills needed by nurses. All successful leaders have had mentors are our mentors” (Finkelman,2006, p. 390).

When most experienced registered nurses hear the word shock, they begin to use their critical thinking skills to determine the patient’s immediate need. However, new graduate nurses in the career field are faced with a different type of shock; they are faced with transitional shock. Transitional shock is a theory created by Judy Duchscher. Her theory is based on reality shock which is a term coined by Marlene Kramer. Reality shock is when new nurses recognize clinical practice and the classroom setting are two different worlds (Hentz and Gilmore, 2011, p.134). When new graduates transition to a registered nurse position, it does not happen with ease. Over the years, there has been a rise in concern with this transition. As new graduates move in the career field, they may feel anxious and uncertain about their new responsibilities. Unfortunately, when there is a high demand of nurses, new graduate nurses are expected to begin a new job at full speed, but they are not able to handle the fast pace position they are placed in. When new graduates are expected to accomplish task they are unprepared for, it sets them up for transitional shock. To minimize transition shock for new graduates, finding a mentor, preceptor, seeking an internship or residency program may help ease the transition.

“I pledge my honor I have neither given nor received inappropriate aid on this assignment.”

Having a certain certification in a specific field of work is quite a big deal to most people. There are so many opportunities in the world, that sometimes I question why one might not take advantage of the offer. When I was in high school, I worked hard and became a Certified Nursing Assistant. Getting to this point in my desired career life definitely was not an easy task. Of course there were days that made me want to give up and start over,Although it was tough but the second I looked at my patients, everything made sense and I knew my reason to be there, and to be taking care of them. , There isn’t one moment in that course that I would change; sure there were some negative days, but there was always a positive outcome at the end of my shiftanything about it.. Throughout my time in the class where This opportunity drastically changed my life, I never knew I could absorb as much knowledge as I did. With this new information I’ve learned, I can now provide appropriate care for others that truly need it.

Throughout this clinical semester, I have worked with several different registered nurses (RNs) and have been able to develop mentoring relationships with many of the staff on the unit. During our time together, I interviewed several of my nurse mentors and elicited information regarding their nursing experiences and the culture of the environment in which they work. The following conversations provide a summarization of my nurse mentors’ responses to the selected interview questions.

The new graduate nurses (NGN) are faced with various issues and challenges especially in their first year of nursing practice. The period of transition from a student to a graduate nurse is a demanding period that is filled with new experiences and there are several concerns and factors that can affect the transition process. The research into the issues has recommended some strategies that can be utilised to ease the transition process from being a student to a professional practicing nurse. Exhaustion, reality shock and time management are some of the factors and issues that the new graduate might encounter during their first year in their career.

Transitioning from nursing school to working in a hospital setting can be a challenging time for a new graduate. Due to the nursing shortage, new graduate nurses are being hired with little to no experience. This is overwhelming for new nurses, especially when they are not getting adequate support or training from the hospital. The amount of stress, pressure, and lack of training is leading to a high turnover rate for new graduate nurses. With patient acuity on the rise, new graduate nurses that are filling these vacancies in the hospitals, need to be competent nurses to provide proper and safe care to the patients.

The beginning of a new graduate nurses career rarely begins easily, there seems to be a distinct disconnect between the fantasy of what it means to be a nurse and the reality of bedside nursing. Nursing school seems to feed into this disconnection, in that it does not prepare the new graduate registered nurse (NGRN) for their professional practice. What nursing school does is give the NGRN the basics, a peak into what is to come. The NGRN has to find out for themselves what the true meaning of being a nurse is and if it fits their preconceived ideas.

As a new graduate from Santa Monica College, I am in the process of obtaining my first RN position in where I will be introduced to a new way of life and work altogether. Although I have spent several hours in a clinical setting and also had the chance to have a preceptorship and get the experience of being on my own for several weeks with no clinical instructor I will still feel inexperienced when I obtain my first job position. I will no longer be a nursing student but an actual nurse who will have three to four patients I need to take care of without someone watching my every step. The transition from being a nursing student to a working nurse will be difficult in the beginning but as time passes by and I get more experience I should be

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) defines the role of a mentor as a nurse with specific training who is able to facilitate learning, and supports and supervises students in a practice setting (NMC 2008). Mentorship plays an integral part in the next generation of practitioners and nursing professionals play a vital role in guiding a process that allows the transference of knowledge, skills and attributes from healthcare professionals to the students they are working with (English National Board and Department of Health 2001).

The purpose of this assignment is to undertake a thorough literature review in order to obtain a comprehensive and accurate answer to the question “Do nurses who have transitioned from enrolled nurse to registered nurse perform more confidently in their first year out of university, compared to students graduating with no prior clinical/professional experience?” To research this topic, a broad search using the term “Enrolled nurses transitioning into Registered nurses” was performed on the Scopus electronic database. The articles returned with this search strategy were then narrowed down by relevance to 7 peer reviewed journal articles, the results and findings of which are discussed at length in this paper. The studies used are a phenomenological study style using a series of surveys and interviews.

Upon literature review, it was noted that effective mentoring can contribute toward a positive learning environment and valuable learning experiences (Botma, Hurter & Kotze, 2012). A long standing concern among nursing faculty has been the large number of students that a clinical faculty member is responsible for during a clinical experience and faculty time for adequate supervision and attention (Bagnardi, 2011). Peer mentoring is a strategy that has been used in the clinical setting. A major role of the mentor is to assist and encourage students to link theory to practice in a practical setting

While at LCCC I was on the Dean's List. I had started my BSN degree at DeSales, but withdrew because at the time three years was too long to suspend my responsibilities. Instead, I decided to gain my LPN degree, graduated top of my class, and passed my boards on the first try. I am currently working at Cedar Brook, but would like to continue to my education at LCCC in hopes of becoming a Registered Nurse.