In today’s fast paced hospitals, working with newly qualified nurses may sometimes feel like a challenge. Fresh out of school these new grads are not able to get the job done as quickly as more experienced nurses, nor do they yet have good organizational skills. All this comes with time and practice. Many of us have forgotten that we too were once slow and awkward, unsure of our skills or place in the hierarchy of the team.

Many advertisements today ask for newly qualified nurses, new graduates, offering sign on bonuses and more. Newly qualified nurses are fresh out of school, knowledgeable in the latest nursing practices, and evidence-based practices. But many have little hands on experience as they are thrust in to a work life of long hours (12 hours in many countries), and more acutely ill patients, with many problems.

Statistics have revealed for years that many new graduates leave the profession after the first six months to a year. They cite reasons such as being bullied by other nurses, finding shift work too intrusive of their private life, and heavy workloads. In order to retain these nurses more experienced nurses need to learn better ways of working with newly qualified nurses; and they need to be supported by management in these attempts.

Following are 10 tips to working with newly qualified nurses that will help you in your endeavors to retain new professionals, and perhaps renew your own understanding and reflection of the unique challenges new graduates face in the very demanding, yet rewarding profession of nursing.

1. Be patient

Many new graduates report that they are often told by older nurses to look busy and to ‘pull their weight’. It takes time to learn to be part of a new team, the routines, discovering the small quirks, and gaining confidence and speed. You might recall that once you were in the same position of learning, perhaps not so long ago.

2. Consider what nursing theory YOU currently practice

Nursing schools spend a good bit of time teaching students about nursing theorists and patient care that is theoretically based. These new nurses look forward to putting these theories into practice, yet when they set out in to the real world they are told, “Don’t rock the boat”. But, theory has its purpose; it is evidenced-based and helps nurses see their patients from a very well-rounded and human perspective. Isn’t it worth taking time to step back to examine where you are now and what your current practice is based upon?

3. Review your current work practices

New graduates report that they often find themselves thrust into poor work practices. Remember when we first graduated, how keen we were to do dressing changes just as precisely as we had in school, our instructor watching over our shoulders, ready to make us open a new sterile field if we contaminated this one - in even the slightest way. Through the years though, as the workload became heavier, many nurses would either skip, or shorten procedures, as time saving measures. As reports of hospital acquired infections continue, perhaps we should be open to relearning, even learning new techniques and better practices. There may be a few things that these new nurses could teach us.

4. Be welcoming and supportive

New grads too often may feel marginalized and isolated; from the moment they start their first nursing job they feel as though they don’t fit in. But your team has just brought on a valuable new member that can help lessen workloads and increase care accuracy. Perhaps now you will be able to take that vacation, or not face so many overtime callbacks.

5. Be open to continuing educational opportunities

Nowadays, all nurses are required to engage in life long learning as part of mandatory regulation requirements. This is one profession where things constantly change and where new nurses can be a great source of new knowledge.

6. Make a speed adjustment

Speed should not define efficiency of care. Of course all nurses know this but, with increased patient acuity and heavier patient workloads, speed has become a necessity in order to complete assigned tasks. Mentor the newly graduated nurse to give confidence – this can often assist in speeding up certain work practices.

7. Be supportive

Newly qualified nurses need support and continued learning. Though they may have just spent 4 years in school it isn’t possible to learn everything. Don’t rush to do a task yourself, take the nurse with you and teach him or her about what you are doing, and why. If another opportunity arises around the same task, take the nurse with you again, but this time, allow them the opportunity to perform the task themselves. In this way a nurse will soon gain the confidence and expertise.

8. Develop a mentorship program

Many of the tips already mentioned are part of mentoring a new nurse. Mentorship programs have proved vastly successful in retaining new nurses, helping them grow and become strong nurses.

9. Use a buddy program

Head nurses play a key role in helping new graduates feel welcome and learn the routines of care in their department. It may be fruitful, for all nursing staff, to design a buddy system whereby a new graduate shadows a select nurse (or nurses) for a time until he, or she, gains more confidence, and speed, and is ready for sole patient care assignments.

10. Reflection

With the news that a new team member will be joining you, take the time to reflect on your memories of being a new nurse graduate. It may have been easy to fit in to your new work life, but perhaps not. Reflect on how the workload and patient acuity levels have changed over your years as a nurse. You have had time to adjust; new grads today seem to be expected to hit the ground running. Could you do it?

References
The theory – practice gap: Impact of professional – bureaucratic work conflict on newly qualified nurses, 2006
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6571100/The-Theorypractice-Gapimpact-of-Professionalbureaucratic-Work-Conflict-on-Newly-Qualified-Nurses