TRANSITIONING STRATEGIES FOR NEW NURSES
As a result of a predicted severe shortage of nurses, nursing leadership is in constant pursuit of techniques that will attract and retain the newest professional in the market (Hofler &Thomas, 2016). However, the transition from schooling to professional practice bears with it a myriad of complexities for both the staff, new practitioners, and the human resource department (Ingyarsson, Verho & Rosengren, 2019). For the new practitioners, there is a host of transitional milestones they have to deal with, including becoming a registered professional through license attainment, selecting employer and employment area, choosing one’s area of practice and specialty, and acclimatizing to the work environment.
Therefore, it is imperative that orientation programs are fashioned towards the transitioning of inexperienced nursing students to foster competent and safe practice, albeit, the programs should be cost-effective for the facility. According to Holfer and Thomas (2016), facilities need a restructured approach for nursing mentors to realize confidence and competency form the new nurses. This is attainable through the mentorship 3 -phase model introduced in 2000 by Morton, Cooper, and Palmer. The first stage, the initiation phase teaches effective interactive and interrelationship skills, the second phase, the collaborative phase constructs bond between the mentor and the protégé, and lastly, the final phase, the autonomous stage, gives allows the mentored person exercise independence.
In contemporary, however, medical facilities are employing two main strategies to realize performance and retention from new nurses. First, residency programs adopted by such institutions such as a hospital in the Pacific Northwest, Integration of theory and practice, and development of preceptor programs Hofler &Thomas, 2016). The residency program involves the creation of clinical experience for new nurses within an environment of trained tutors and learning centers. It orients the new nurses on timelines and criteria for completing tasks within the area of specialization. Second, preceptor development in which staff is trained to mentor new nurses on diverse items related to practice. There are also other strategies implemented by institutions to successfully transition nursing students into practice, such as performance guidance and tracking, amongst others.
References
Hofler, L., & Thomas, K. (2016). Transition of new graduate nurses to the workforce challenges and solutions in the changing health care environment. North Carolina medical journal, 77(2), 133-136.
Ingvarsson, E., Verho, J., & Rosengren, K. (2019). Managing Uncertainty in Nursing-Newly Gradu-ated Nurses’ Experiences of Introduction to the Nursing Profession. International Archives of Nursing and Health Care, 5, 119.