NRSG367 Socialisation of New Graduate Nurses Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : NRSG367
• Subject Name : Nursing

Transition to Professional Nursing

Introduction to Transition to Professional Nursing

Registered Nurses (RN) works in people-centered environment. RN works in uplifting and skilled relationship with the individuals, families and communities. These people may or may not have health problems related to physical and psychological illnesses or challenges. The Australian population has a variety of cultural and linguistic diversity and “Registered nurse standards for practice” are to be read in this context and recognize the importance history and customs to wellbeing. RNs are in charge and liable to the “Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA)”, which are the national registered standards that have to be practiced by every RNs. RN as a professional requires constant thinking and analytical skills to develop and sustain constructive relationships. This practice involves continuous assessment, development of plans, their implementation and evaluating the outcomes. They are responsible to supervise and delegate the duties to enrolled nurses (EN) and other staff members. They are also responsible to keep up with the changing systems and coordinate with other medical professionals. This essay highlights the professional and personal challenges that a Graduate Registered Nurse faces on daily basis.

Role and Responsibilities of RN During the Shift

The graduate RN did not meet his duties and responsibilities as a professional RN during his shift. Firstly, he failed to think critically and analyze the nursing practices during his duty as he did not keep accurate, comprehensive and timely documentation of assessment, planning, decision making, actions and evaluations (NMBA, 2017). RNs make use of a range of strategies and finest evidence in decision making process and deliver safe, quality nursing practices within person-centered and evidenced-based framework. Alex forgot to complete documentation for admission of Mr. Maple and he did not complete patient notes on the computer on wheels machine which can be further used as an evidence for other staff members. It is his duty to prepare required documents in a proper format so that other healthcare professionals or other RNs on their duties are well informed about the medical health and history of the patients. Moreover, the RN also failed to maintain capability for practice that is, considers and responds in a timely manner to health and wellbeing of self and others in relation to the capability of practice as the RN forgot to check up on Ms O’ Sullivan for three hours after given antiemetic and was not sure if she has experienced any post op-complications.

RNs are health professional and are responsible and accountable for ensuring that they are fit to practice, which include self management skills and are responsible for their professional growth as well, as the graduate RN was not sure how to handle the situation of end stage liver failure patient. The RN must have respond to his patient in a timely manner because lack of time management skills may have an adverse effect on a patient’s life. Lastly, the RN was not able to develop a plan for nursing practices. RNs are in charge for making effective plans and communicate their evaluation to achieve desired outcomes. Effective plans are made in partnership which depends on the relevant information and evidence such as documents and reports (NMBA, 2017). With the help of proper planning and communication with an experienced staff member or nurse, these mistakes could have been avoided. The graduate RN also failed to evaluate outcomes to inform nursing practices as he did not maintain proper documents for the nurse for next shift.

Recommendation to Improve Performance During the Shift

Graduate RN could have taken his shift differently with the help of proper time management by prioritizing the list of things to be achieved in day. Usually the job of medical professionals and nurses require long working hours and sometimes it gets very difficult to balance their work as well personal life. Therefore, time management plays an important role for managing day to day work. The graduate RN should have made a to-do list in which high priority task to be achieved and some extra tasks like preparing documents of patients could be mentioned, this would help in effective allocation time to different task accordingly and would also help in completion of those tasks on time (Berwick,2003). Moreover, the RN could have made some time for family and friends. Effective time management can also help in removing ambiguity in tasks to be performed, helps to keeps a track and reduces the stress when tasks are accomplished. Secondly, the graduate RN could have communicated and coordinated with more experienced nurses about the challenges that he might be facing during work. Strong communication is the key to solve several issues at workplace as it provides us with solution to a given problem and also assist in making effective decisions (Nylor & Feldman, 2009).

Communicating the problems will not only provide the solution but will help in identifying the most effective and efficient approach that can be taken to overcome the obstacles. In this case, Alex could have asked for help regarding the tasks earlier in order to manage the patients and other paper work in a successful manner .Sometimes new responsibilities can be overwhelming and we might need some assistance. In this case the new graduate was overloaded with patients and sometimes in order to make a good impression and show dedication we hesitate to ask for help from our fellow staff mates and could have communicated work related problem to the superior politely and compassionately and asked for the help required; this would have saved his time and efforts. Sometimes working hours can be more than fifteen hours in cases of emergencies and professional doctors and nurses find it difficult to invest some time on them as well. It is quite difficult to get enough sleep, eat and exercise due to comprehensive shifts and a hectic schedule. It becomes important to get nutritious diet and adequate rest to avoid obesity and other health related issues which further reduces stress level of an individual.

Therefore, investing in self care is essential because in order to treat other patients you must keep yourself healthy and active (Hofler &Thomas, 2016). In the case of Alex, due to long working hours and excessive workload the pressure really stressed and frustrated with him as he was struggling during his shift and missed a lot of important tasks to be done. In order to perform better he must take adequate sleep of at least 8 hours and maintain a balance diet. It is also necessary to make time for things that are important such as friends and family, it does not have to be major plans like trips but simple pleasure in life such as attending small family gatherings and spending time with friends can make a huge difference in the performance when you are exhausted and tired of hectic working schedules.

Transition Process Strategies

Transitioning is the process of shifting from one state or condition to another. According to Duchscher, transition stage refers to the first 12 months after graduation when student becomes a qualified nurse. Several research shows that transition period for nurses is quite challenging due to demanding working hours, stress and discomfort, which is the main reason for quitting (Hofler &Thomas, 2016). New graduate nurses face various challenges such as time management, patient assessment skills, documentation skills, accountability, decision making, lack of experienced mentors, anxiety and so on. It is ordinary for new graduates to feel insecure and hesitated while making decisions in the initial stage. In order to make transition period easy for all the new students some initiative must be taken. First initiative is Preceptor Program and Mentoring; it helps the students to work in the actual working environment with more experienced nurses and medical professionals in order to build up their skills and confidence and slowly but surely gain more self-sufficiency in patient care (Chang & Daly, 2012).

This kind of support can enhance their skills and boost competitive skills. Preceptor program are very effective in the first six months of transitioning as it helps in reducing cultural shock and also helps in linking to theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge. Second is building a supportive environment. Supportive environment is the key to successful transition as it allows the new nurses to feel comfortable at working place and ask questions related to work, allowing them to grow professional as well as personal skills (Chang & Daly, 2012). Problems detected at an early stage reduce the time and efforts of the students and also reduces the stress and anxiety level. Third is effective planning plays an important role for managing day to day work. The graduate students should make a to-do list in which they should mention high priority task to be achieved and some extra tasks like preparing documents of patients, this would help him to allocate time to different task accordingly and would also help in completion of those tasks on time.

Moreover, students will have some time for their family and friends. It will also encourage the nurses to make preemptively devised strategies that will help them in managing the situations before a difficulty occurs. Last is self-care, investing in self-care is essential because in order to treat other patients nurses must keep themselves healthy and active (Hofler &Thomas, 2016). Due to long working hours and excessive workload they might feel really stressed and frustrated; they might struggle during their shift and misses a lot of important tasks to be done. In order to perform better adequate sleeps of at least 8 hours is mandatory and maintaining a balance diet is also important. Self-care will not only boost their productivity but will also help in maintain a perfect balance between their professional and private life. 

Conclusion on Transition to Professional Nursing

From the above case study it can be conclude that the transition of student nurse to professional RN is a quite challenging process as it requires to posses many skills in order to keep up with the changing techniques and technologies in medical field. The case of Alex has been studied and also highlighted the key points that were responsible for the poor performance during the shift due to lack of managerial skills, communication skills, and time management and presentation skills. Some recommendations as to how a graduate student can improve their skills for effective and productive outcomes in a precise manner are also given. Discussion about how transitional process can be difficult at initial stage and how preceptor program and mentoring, supportive environment, effective planning and investment on self-care can make this process easy and smooth for both students and medical professionals. Discovered that how demanding working hours and hectic schedules can have an adverse effect on the personal and professional life of an RN.

References for Transition to Professional Nursing

Duchscher, J. (2008). Transition shock: the initial stage of role adaptation for newly graduated Registered Nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing,1103-1113 p.

Ebrahimi, H., Hassankhani, H. &Negarandeh, R. (2016) . Barriers to support for new graduated nurses in clinical settings: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today. 37: 184-188. PMid:26611573https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2015.11.008

Feng, R. & Tsai, Y. (2012).Socialisation of new graduate nurses to practising nurses.Journal of Clinical Nursing. 21(13-14): 2064-2071. PMid:22384849 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2702.20 11.03992.x

Malouf, N. & West, S. (2011). Fitting in: A pervasive new graduate nurse need.NurseEducationToday. 31(5): 488-493. PMid:21036429 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2010.10.002

Parker, V., Giles, M. &Lantry, G. (2014) . New graduate nurses’ experiences in their first year of practice. Nurse Education Today, 34(1): 150-156. PMid:22857819https://doi.org/10.1016/j. nedt.2012.07.003

Philips, C., Kenny, A. &Esterman, A. (2014) .A secondary data analysis examing the needs of graduate nurses iin their transition to a new role.Nurse Education Practice; 14(2): 106-111. PMid:23932667https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2013.07.007

Salt, J. & Cummings, G. (2008) .Increasing retention of new graduate nurses: A systematic review of interventions by healthcare organisations.TheJournalofNursingAdministration. 287-296. PMid:18562833 https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NNA.0000312 788.88093.2e

TSANG, L. F., Sham, S. Y. A., Law, S. L. W., Chan, Y. M., & Sze, C. Y. (2016). ToUCH Program on competence, occupational stress and self-efficacy of newly graduated registered nurses in United Christian Hospital: A mixed method research study. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 6(8). https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v6n8p129

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