title: Successful transition of the new graduate nurse.
abstract: Reports that new nurse graduates are not sufficiently prepared to enter the workforce are of concern to educators, employers, and other stakeholders. Often, this lack of 'practice readiness' is defined in relation to an inability to 'hit the ground running' and is attributed to a 'gap' between theory and practice and the nature of current work environments. To gain a deeper understanding of the process of making the transition from student to graduate nurse, discussion groups were held across Alberta with 14 new graduates and 133 staff nurses, employers, and educators. Five additional new graduates and 34 staff nurses, employers, and educators provided input by fax or e-mail. The findings of this initiative speak to the need to examine assumptions underlying 'practice readiness' and what constitutes an effective transition to the workplace. The problems to be addressed are complex and a wide range of sustainable, evidence-based approaches are required to resolve them.
authors.affiliation: Athabasca University.
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Romyn
authors.forename: Noreen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Linton
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giblin
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hendrickson
authors.forename: Lori Houger
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Limacher
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nordstrom
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thauberger
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vosburgh
authors.forename: Leianne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vye-Rogers
authors.forename: Arlene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weidner
authors.forename: Colleen M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Zimmel
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000416:Alberta; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000458:organization & administration; D008297:Male; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000523:psychology*; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology