Critical analysis
There are several problematic transitions that a new graduate faces after he or she is introduced to his or her area of professional. During the transition from new graduate to an experienced the nurses encounter many challenges as they spend most of their time exploring their clinical skills in few areas of nursing specialty. Transition in nursing professional is the time when the new graduate, in the workplace, meet the realities of the professional practices whereby, a new graduate tries to manage both clinical and non-clinical skills and gain experience for competency health services (Masters, 2015). Professional accountability is the responsibilities that a new nursing graduate learn while in the area of placement that helps a graduate to gain skills for the transition competency of becoming an experienced registered nurse. Clinical currency this refer to the beneficial knowledge associated with the provision of direct the care to the patients while a new healthcare professional maintains clinical skills within the working environment (Krautscheid, 2014). The ability of a new graduate to capture the issues related to nursing graduate and acquiring the appropriate substances in practice can make it easy for one during the transition to be a qualified professional nurse. This essay will critically analyze and discuss how a new graduate nurse should utilize both the clinical and non- clinical skills through the use of relevant theories; Benner’s, Webinar’s and Dreyfus model of skills.
The new graduate’s nurses who have just completed their studies from their college or a university are anticipated to show maximum proficiency in the use of both clinical and nonclinical skills. According to the webinar theory, the first thing a new graduate feels after he or she has been introduced to the reality of the working environment is that they know little about the field’s practical activities. Some of the clinical skills that a new graduate has to learn include the management of the ECG, cardiac monitoring and sharps disposal.
ECG management. Although conducting an ECG routine evaluation to the patient is essential, in contrary, Masters (2015) argues that it is a scary practice to those who have never experienced it before; it’s advisable to show the patient a clear explanation and demonstration of how the ECG routine works so that to prepare them psychologically to avoid surprises and shocks. In order to gain confidence while interpreting the ECG observations on the patient the nurse has to assess the patient and through a systematic approach be aware of the his/her own heart rate. The nurse is required to identify the lethal rhythms, assess his/her resources and look at the patient for ECG proficiency. The patient should not be having any electronic device around him/her, similarly, the nurse should ensure the client lies flat on the side, relax the shoulders and keep his/her legs uncrossed. To read the ECG the nurse counts the number of R waves within 6 seconds strip and multiply by 10 (Tubaishat & Tawalbeh, 2015). Similarly, the fact that the ECG is used to assess rhythm and heart rate, then it can be used to detect heart blockage which may contribute to heart failure of the patient. Therefore, it is considered an important routine to the patient and also account for quality health services provided by a particular health organization (Gale, Ooms, Sharples & Marks-Maran, 2016).
Cardiac monitoring. It is essential for the new graduate nurse to learn the skill of how to monitor the cardiac functioning, despite that it is a vital and an urgent area for new nursing graduate to handle, Curran, (2014) indicates that when entitled to such a responsibility to a patient in a critical condition as it requires an experienced registered nurse.
Sharps disposal. Proper disposal of sharp equipment is an essential skill that a new graduate has to acquire, similarly, according to Willetts & Clarke, (2014), it prevents the risk of spreading infections due to fluid body contact in case of an accident.
Some of the non-clinical skills a new graduates nurse has to acquire while in the area of practice or a job includes; empathy, confidence and compassion to the clients.
Empathy. A nursing student has to show empathy while delivering care to the patient for empathy in nursing professional is the mother of well refined communication skills, patient-centered care approach and helps one to strengthen his/her confidence to provide competence care to the patients (Sweeney, O’Sullivan, & McCarthy, 2015). A new graduates nurse has to show empathy in some areas like when wound dressing and while bathing the clients with physical pain. Although empathy is a very crucial tool in every healthcare professional, Wright et al, (2018) shown that there are some scenarios where the nurse or any other health practitioner has to apply much of clinical reasoning while regarding the patients’ condition to ensure privacy, autonomy and confidentiality to the client. Many new nursing student have dificulties in managing their moods and attitude while giving care to the clients. It is now when empathetic communication skills for the new nursing graduates is required so that to moderate the language, and creates a good interactions for example sharing some cultural values and beliefs with the patints which give rise to a free environment between the client and the nurse and thus triggering the provision of qulity care (Expósito et al, 2018). Nevertheless, empathetic care to the patient promotes the and accouts for the quality and safe servuces provided by a health organisation thus exposing its competency in service delivery to the clients.
Confidence. Despite confidentiality being a crucial tool for a new graduate nurse, as per the Güner, (2015), it is more recommendable for the new nurse in the field to be much inquisitive and probably involve collaborative team members in every decision he or she makes within the required health care services as this duty requires a very qualified health professional.
Compassion. A new nurse graduate has to cope with the hospital’s environment through the building of compassion with the client, likewise, Krautscheid, (2014), recommends that this enables a nurse to maintain the capacity to provide the necessary care to the patients to the best of their knowledge.
The case study shows how after every shift gives a newly nurse a new skill, and this helps one to settle in his/ her working environment (Zarshenas et al, 2014). As a learner, one gets to know where many healthcare equipments are located, how the machines work, turning on and off in different gadgets within the workplace.
According to Benner’s theory, the nursing profession is a complex interaction of skills acquisition increase of capability and competency development within the individual’s professional life. The five stages in Benner’s theory for attaining proficiency in nursing professional are discussed below;
Novice. At this stage, the new graduates have no experience about the situations of practice they are expected to carry out their duties. Novices are the rules that are taught to the new graduate nurses so that they can perform competently. These rules are free and general; thus, they control the behaviors of the novice which are inflexible and extremely limited.
Advanced Beginner. These are new professionals who can prove marginally acknowledged performance can point out the mentor, have meaningful situational components and have experienced adequate practical situations. It is when one utilizes the guiding principles for the actions based on the experiences.
Competent. Competence is demonstrated by the nurse who has ever worked with in similar situations for two to three years. The nurse lacks flexibility and speed and can cope with and manage several clinical skills, but he/she does not have enough experience to handle situations as a whole or completely all alone (Curran, 2014).
Proficient. The nurse can perform the situation as whole all alone and not just some parts or aspects. The proficient nurse understands the problem for he/she is aware of the meaning and regards to the long-term goals. Once in full understanding of the situations, through maxim, the proficient nurse is directed to account for the solutions (Hoeve, Jansen & Roodbol, 2014).
The Expert. The performer here does not rely on an analytical principle connects directly to the situation due to his understanding and evaluates the appropriate action. The expert nurse has a huge background of experiences, highly skilled with an intuitive grasp of every situation. Such a nurse can only use analytical tools when it is the only way to solve a contradicting problem (Carlson, Rämgård, Bolmsjö & Bengtsson, 2014).
According to the Dreyfus’ model of skills acquisition, the skills of a new health professional increase moderately as the person’s working period prolong especially during the first year of work. Positive reinforcement and other experienced staff’s support are necessary to the newly qualified professionals to enable them to provide the competence care to the patients within their workplace (Duarte, Pinto-Gouveia & Cruz, 2016). Provision of practical educational experiences can assist in exposing the new nurse to realistic clinical situations at both undergraduate and inexperienced graduates’ levels. Although the transition starts at the university levels, there is a need to assure a continual supply of competent skills to the registered nurses to prepare them for both acute and chronic care practices (Hensel & Laux, 2014).
Reflection for a new nursing graduate improves professional capability as one has to reflect on preparedness for new graduate practice and consider his/her personal goals and values. According to Rolfe’s reflection model, the first stage which involves the reflection on what happened, in my preparedness as a new graduate nurse, I tried so much to change the environmental nature in my workplace (Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2011). During my placement, I strengthened my skills through clinical reasoning in trying to evaluate the main cause of the problems as I seek for assistance from other colleague workers for interpretation whenever I was handling a patient with a foreign language that I couldn’t understand (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). My effort of ensuring that every single patient I am entitled to take care for, had a safe environment and better conditions in the future was in line with the Standard 3: Maintains the capacity for practice of Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australian (NMBA) guidelines (Ossenberg, Henderson & Dalton, 2015). According to standard 5: Develops a plan for nursing practice, with the help of other health care team, I explained to the patient about the type of alarms and made them differentiate them from the healthcare equipment noises. As per the so what stage of Rofel reflection model, I realized that this can help the patient by creating awareness of such noises to avoid shock and terrible situations that may harm them psychologically (Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2011). Also, before enacting the ECG to the patient, I could first run off a few spiels concerning what I am going to do and also demonstrate to the patient how the equipment works so that he/she may understand what he/she shall be expecting to feel. According to the final stage of Rofel’s reflection model- what next, As I transition into my responsibility as a registered nurse, I am required to make the clients to know that I am with them because I want to look after them and they be free to ask for anything (Rolfe, Jasper, & Freshwater, 2011). Reflection on the past experiences practices is of great significance for the new graduate nurse during transitioning.
Conclusion
This essay has analyzed the importance of understanding several factors that affect a new nursing graduate at the workplace during the transition into an experienced registered nurse. The essay has also demonstrated some of the clinical and nonclinical skills that a new graduate nurse has to manage while at the place of work. The essay has revealed a detailed understanding of the issues faced by the new graduates in their place of work as they acquire quality substances during the transition to enable them to work efficiently and competently and become professional in the career. More transition programs have to be implemented so that to bridge the gap between the new graduate and the experienced registered nurses by smoothening their relationship and to avoid stressful situations for the new graduates’ nurses.
References
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal Relationships-E-Book: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Carlson, E., Rämgård, M., Bolmsjö, I., & Bengtsson, M. (2014). Registered nurses’ perceptions of their professional work in nursing homes and home-based care: A focus group study. International journal of nursing studies, 51(5), 761-767.
Curran, M. K. (2014). Examination of the teaching styles of nursing professional development specialists, part I: Best practices in adult learning theory, curriculum development, and knowledge transfer. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 45(5), 233-240.
Expósito, J. S., Costa, C. L., Agea, J. L. D., Izquierdo, M. D. C., & Rodríguez, D. J. (2018). Socio-emotional competencies as predictors of performance of nursing students in simulated clinical practice. Nurse education in practice, 32, 122-128.
Duarte, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Cruz, B. (2016). Relationships between nurses’ empathy, self-compassion and dimensions of professional quality of life: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 60, 1-11.
Gale, J., Ooms, A., Sharples, K., & Marks-Maran, D. (2016). The experiences of student nurses on placements with practice nurses: a pilot study. Nurse education in practice, 16(1), 225-234.
Güner, P. (2015). Preparedness of final?year T urkish nursing students for work as a professional nurse. Journal of clinical nursing, 24(5-6), 844-854.
Hensel, D., & Laux, M. (2014). Longitudinal study of stress, self-care, and professional identity among nursing students. Nurse educator, 39(5), 227-231.
Hoeve, Y. T., Jansen, G., & Roodbol, P. (2014). The nursing profession: public image, self?concept and professional identity. A discussion paper. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(2), 295-309.
Krautscheid, L. C. (2014). Defining professional nursing accountability: a literature review. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30(1), 43-47.
Masters, K. (2015). Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Ossenberg, C., Henderson, A., & Dalton, M. (2015). Determining attainment of nursing standards: the use of behavioural cues to enhance clarity and transparency in student clinical assessment. Nurse education today, 35(1), 12-15.
Rolfe, G., Jasper, M., & Freshwater, D. (2011). Critical reflection in practice: generating knowledge for care. Palgrave Macmillan.
Sweeney, C., O’Sullivan, E., & McCarthy, M. (2015). Keeping it real: Exploring an interdisciplinary breaking bad news role-play as an integrative learning opportunity. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14-32.
Tubaishat, A., & Tawalbeh, L. I. (2015). Effect of cardiac arrhythmia simulation on nursing students’ knowledge acquisition and retention. Western journal of nursing research, 37(9), 1160-1174.
Willetts, G., & Clarke, D. (2014). Constructing nurses’ professional identity through social identity theory. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 20(2), 164-169.
Wright, A., Moss, P., Dennis, D. M., Harrold, M., Levy, S., Furness, A. L., & Reubenson, A. (2018). The influence of a full-time, immersive simulation-based clinical placement on physiotherapy student confidence during the transition to clinical practice. Advances in Simulation, 3(1), 3.
Zarshenas, L., Sharif, F., Molazem, Z., Khayyer, M., Zare, N., & Ebadi, A. (2014). Professional socialization in nursing: A qualitative content analysis. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 19(4), 432.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
