Expectations and perceptions of graduates' performance at the start and at the end of their graduate year

Competence perceptions of veterinary nursing students and registered veterinary nurses in Ireland: a mixed methods explanatory study

Background

Veterinary regulators require veterinary nursing students to demonstrate clinical competence prior to registration and practice as a veterinary nurse. However, in common with other medical professions, there is no one broadly accepted definition of competence. Studies in nursing have revealed that practicing nurses may view newly qualified colleagues as lacking competence, leading to disillusionment with nursing training programmes. Similar studies are lacking in veterinary nursing, despite the profession having recently undergone a similar transition from workplace-based training to undergraduate education.

Methods

A mixed methods explanatory study surveyed 66 Irish registered veterinary nurses and 31 first year veterinary nursing students at two Irish third level institutions to obtain their views on what constitutes veterinary nursing competence and when veterinary nurses develop it. The surveys were followed by student focus groups and semi-structured one-on-one interviews with registered veterinary nurses. Content analysis was employed to analyse the surveys, while the focus groups and interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis.

Results

Students perceived competence primarily as the ability to provide patient care, and they expected it to develop close to the time of graduation. RVNs held a broader definition of competence, incorporating leadership skills and confidence as well as patient care provision. RVNs expected it to take approximately two years of workplace-based experience post-graduation for a veterinary nurse to develop competence. In addition, RVNs recognised that anxiety felt by many newly qualified veterinary nurses during this period could be attenuated by mentorship from more experienced colleagues.

Conclusions

Irish RVNs and veterinary nursing students perceive competence differently, similar to previous findings from the nursing profession. Educators and regulators should provide explicit descriptions of terms such as ‘competence’ to avoid confusion and possible disillusionment amongst veterinary nursing stakeholders.

Emotional Support for New Graduated Nurses in Clinical Setting: a Qualitative Study

Introduction: Newly graduated nurses experience many stressful situations during transition to practice. The provision of emotional support from more experienced nurses can ameliorate such work-related tension. Studies have not clearly specified the means through which such support could be most effectively provided; therefore the present study was conducted to explore the experiences of qualified nurses around the provision of emotional support to newly graduated nurses.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 18 qualified nurses. A purposive sampling approach was used for selection of participants. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by the conventional content analysis method. The study took place from 2014-2015 in six teaching hospitals in the northwest of Iran.

Results: Emotional supports emerged in four following main-categories: Assurance, creating a sense of relaxation and security, lifting spirits, and emotional belonging and involvement.

Conclusion: These results can help to establish an effective source of emotional support for newly graduated nurses. This can play an important role in reducing their stress and anxiety, in increasing their self-confidence and in forming a constructive relationship between them and qualified nurses.

The nature and implications of support in graduate nurse transition programs: an Australian study

It is widely recognized that support is critical to graduate nurse transition from novice to advanced beginner-level practitioner and to the integration of neophyte practitioners into safe and effective organizational processes. Just what constitutes support, however, and why (if at all) support is important, when, ideally, support should be given, by whom, how, and for how long, have not been systematically investigated. Building on the findings (previously reported) of a year long study that had, as its focus, an exploration and description of processes influencing the successful integration of new graduate nurses into safe and effective organizational processes and systems, the findings presented in this article strongly suggest that support is critical to the process of graduate nurse transition, and that integration into "the system" is best provided during the first 4 weeks of a graduate nurse transition program and thereafter at the beginning of each ward rotation; that "informal teachers" and the graduate nurses themselves are often the best sources of support; and that the most potent barriers to support being provided are the untoward attitudes of staff toward new graduates. Drawing on the overall findings of the study, a new operational definition of support is proposed and recommendations are made for future comparative research on the issue.

Evaluation of a forensic psychiatric setting to provide a graduate nurse programme

There has been growth in the number and diversity of models of Australian graduate nurse programmes in psychiatric nursing. Programmes have also been established in specialist areas, and evidence is needed regarding best models of graduate nurse programmes and the ability of specialist areas to prepare nurses for psychiatric nursing. This paper reports on a qualitative project that examined the adequacy of a forensic psychiatric hospital to provide a graduate nurse programme. Individual, semistructured interviews were undertaken with nurses participating in the programme, and nurses who had completed the programme and had remained at the hospital or were nursing in other areas. Participants identified that the environment was safe and supportive of professional practice and development, and that skilled nurses were willing to encourage and teach graduates. Processes such as orientation, preceptorship and academic study were appreciated; however, their colleagues' willingness to be available, to teach, and to support were more valued. Participants reported that they felt confident and prepared as psychiatric nurses. Although limitations of undertaking a graduate nurse programme in a forensic setting were identified, the participants from past programmes who had gone on to work in other services did not report that their nursing careers had been disadvantaged. It can be concluded that as long as the context of the programme has adequate resources to support and assist graduates to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes of psychiatric nursing, then the specialist nature may not be a limitation.

Processes Influencing the Development of Graduate Nurse Capabilities in Clinical Risk Management

OBJECTIVES

To explore and describe key processes influencing the development of graduate nurse capabilities in clinical risk management (CRM).

METHODS

This study was undertaken using an exploratory descriptive case study method. Four sample units of analysis were used, notably: 2 cohorts of graduate nurses (n = 11) undertaking a 12-month graduate nurse transition program; key stakeholders (n = 34), that is, nurse unit managers, clinical teachers, preceptors, a quality manager, a librarian, and senior nurse administrators employed by the participating health service; patient outcome data; and pertinent literature.

RESULTS

Data strongly suggested that graduate nurse capabilities in CRM were most influenced not by their supposed lack of clinical knowledge and skills but by their lack of corporate knowledge. The failure to provide new graduate nurses with pertinent information on CRM at the beginning of their employment and thereafter at pertinent intervals during the graduate nurse year program aslo hindered the development of their capabilities to manage clinical risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Management and educational processes pertinent to informing and involving new graduate nurses in a hospital's local CRM program (including information about the organization's local policies and procedures) need to be implemented systematically at the very beginning of a new graduate's employment and thereafter throughout the remainder of the graduate nurse year.