The use of a clinical resource nurse for newly graduated nurses in a pediatric oncology setting.
The pediatric oncology nursing unit at the Alberta Children's Hospital experienced a large influx of new staff nurses between May 2008 and November 2008. There were 16 in total, and only a few had previous experience, whereas the majority was newly graduated nurses. As a solution to the high numbers of new staff nurses, the role of a Resource Nurse was developed as a temporary position to assist new staff nurses with their patient assignment, prioritize their day, and deal with complex patient procedures/treatments. Also, the Resource Nurse assisted all staff on the unit in dealing with increased patient acuity, chemotherapy administration, acuity issues, family teaching, and complicated family situations. A total of 55 prebooked shifts were scheduled from November 2008 to January 2009. A questionnaire was handed out to the staff nurses as a means to determine the effectiveness of having a Resource Nurse work on the unit. Twenty-three nurses responded by filling out the confidential questionnaire. Overall, respondents reported that the Resource Nurse was beneficial to their practice on the unit.
MacKay
Lyndsay Jerusha
LJ
Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. lyndsay.mackay@albertahealthservices.ca
Bellamy-Stack
Catherine
C
D000416:Alberta; D001955:British Columbia; D002648:Child; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods*; D009726:Nurses / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D012525:Saskatchewan; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce