The Transition from a Graduate Nurse to a Professional Nurse

This analysis outlines the process of transition from graduate nurses to professional registered nurses and the challenges faced during the process. It also discusses the strategies that can be implemented to facilitate smooth transition. The clinical skills appropriate to this transition should be carefully managed to avoid mistakes during the practical application of nursing knowledge.

Running Head: NURSING 1
The Transition from a Graduate Nurse to a Professional Nurse
Student Name
Student ID
Date

NURSING 2
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................3
Critical Analysis....................................................................................................................3
Discussion.............................................................................................................................5
Reflection..............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................7

NURSING 3
Introduction
This analysis seeks to outline the process of transition from graduate nurses to
professional registered nurses as it is a challenging process. The transition from
graduate nursing to professional nursing is often clouded with emotions. Some
graduates tend to happy others will be anxious or fearful as they venture into the
practical field of nursing (Hofler & Thomas, 2016). There are several factors that are
considered in the transition to being registered nurses. The issues that change during
this transition are; Gaps arising from the theory to practice change, caring for
progressively composite patients with several medical disorders, managing their time,
administration of medicine, the skills for assessing patients, documentation skills,
insufficient expertise in managing and implementing practical skills, working and co-
operating with colleagues, accountability, making informed decisions, working in
shifts, development of competency in preparation and organization and giving priority
to and handling unforeseen events (Kaihlanen , Lakanmaa, & Salminen, 2013).
Nurses should be aware of the duty of care owed to patients during this
transition. The duty of care refers to being able to relieve pains of their pain and
improving the quality of their health (Blais & Hayes, 2016). Clinical skills are defined
as the ability to assess patients effectively and provide timely intervention and an
example is being to manage a patient’s medication (Smith, 2016). Non-clinical skills
refer to the skill that enable nurses to execute their duties successfully and includes
clinical judgements (Bramhall, 2014).
A comprehensive understanding of the issues in new graduate practice enables
nurses and midwives to transit to professional nursing smoothly and be able to put
their theoretical knowledge of nursing into practice effectively.
There are numerous clinical and non-clinical skills that graduate nurses should
be able to manage during the transition to professionalism. Communication and
relational skills are basic skills acquired by graduates at the beginning of the transition
(Kaihlanen, Lakanmaa, & Salminen, 2013). Graduate nurses tend to be very rich when
it comes to communicating with patients, being accountable in the nursing profession
and psychological assessment of patients since the knowledge of what is expected of
them is still fresh. As the graduates grasp experience their nursing assessment and
intervention skills are developed. The proficiency in making more informed decisions
without involving an experienced doctor in enhanced.

NURSING 4
The most important aspect of professionalism is the ability to make problem
solving solutions. The decisions made by professional nurses are completely scientific
and not just based on premonitions. When a nurse makes an informed decision
concerning a patient situation, he/she is said to be very competent (Watkins, Whisman,
& Booker, 2016). Understanding the patient situation even though the nurse cannot
provide an immediate intervention is a form of professionalism. The nurses consistently
monitor the patient’s situation and classify it as either improving or deteriorating
(Smith, 2016). Experienced nurses tend to have a good grasp of the situation and
highlight all the possibilities and solutions that are applicable (Blais & Hayes, 2016).
Being a professional nurse also requires one to abide by the ethical and legal
principles and theories in nursing. These principles guide nurses in their daily medical
practices. The Hippocratic Oath of doctors and nurses requires nurse to practice
medicine ethically that is what competency entails. Nurses are also expected to provide
high quality care to their patients and also act according to their professional knowledge
when providing clinical care to patients (Kumar & McHugh, 2017). Nurses are also
expected to seek a patient’s consent when it is required and not just assume that the
patient will be contented with the intervention (Staunton & Chiarella, 2016).
Skilful nurses will also seek to do good to patients at all times and not cause
harm to the patients neither physically or by leaking vital information to an outside
party (King, 2017). Nursing intervention should always adhere to the laws guiding it.
Issues like physician assisted suicide are legal in major parts of the world and should
only be practised in areas where it is legal
In preparation for the professional nursing, I’ve been able to contain the fear of
practice through constant revision of the knowledge of nursing as well as take part in
internships in order to sharpen my practice skills.
Critical Analysis
Clinical and non-clinical skills help graduate nurses to effectively cope with stress and
anxiety related to the transition to professional nursing. Administration of medication is
an important but challenging skill during this transition. Knowing the drugs being
prescribed well prevents the unnecessary misuse of drugs and reduce the risk factors
associated. Learning from previous mistakes and errors in medication helps graduate
nurses prevent recurrence of the same errors and improve their problem solving skills.
However, graduate nurses lack this skill of medication administration since they have
not put their knowledge into practice before the transition to professional nursing

NURSING 5
(Smith, 2016). Graduate nurses should have a good grasp of these professional skills in
order to avoid making mistakes such as wrong administration of medicine, ineffective
medical intervention and wrong diagnoses.
Clinical and medical judgements must be informed by scientific evidence and
development of technology. The study of nursing practice is broad as it involves
chemical, biological and psychological processes and medical trials at the end of a
study. There are variations in the practice of nursing especially when dealing with a
specific patient. Some of the variations might not be accounted for by science therefore
the clinician must employ clinical reasoning skills in order to understand the situation
of the patient. Clinical judgements and skills develop with time as the nurse
consistently makes scientific decisions. Poor judgements are definitely inevitable at
some point; however, nurses are able to make informed decisions as they learn from
these mistakes (Bramhall, 2014). Nurses and other clinicians learn from bad
judgements as they progress. Graduate nurses have poor clinical judgements since they
possess a theoretical grasp of knowledge rather than the practical aspect.
Discussion
According to Benner’s 5 steps of becoming a professional nurse and Dreyfus
model of Skill Acquisition, one has to pass through the stages of novice, advanced
beginner, competent, proficient and expert (Benner, 1984). In the novice stage, the
nurse has no experience with the imminent situations except for weight, temperature
and other basic nursing intakes. An advanced beginner puts up a performance that is
acceptable marginally since he or she has coped up with sufficient real situations. In the
competency stage, the nurse is typically said to have a 2 or 3 year experience and has a
long-term plan of action. The nurse is conscious of the plan and advance situations are
expected. Competency comes with experience and learning (Kohtz, Brown, Williams,
& O’Conner, 2017). A proficient nurse is able to observe situations wholly and modify
the plans for expected situations since he or she has enough experience. At the expert
category, the nurse no longer needs to rely on guidelines in order to come up with an
understanding of situations since he or she has a huge background of knowledge and
experience. It would take graduate nurses some time before they accrue enough
experience so as to reach the expert level.
There are several strategies, however, that can help graduate nurses in this
transition. These are; mentoring and coordination programs and support by senior
nurses, proper planning of their daily activities, the administration must be very

NURSING 6
competent, guidance and supervision by senior nurses and assistance when dealing with
delicate patients so as to learn the proper way of intervening (Kavanagh & Szweda,
2017). These approaches will most likely improve the clinical reasoning skills of new
graduates as well as help them settle comfortably in the professional practice of
nursing. Graduate nurses should be able to contain their fear and anxiety in order to
smoothly transit to professional nurses.
.
Reflection
Clinical reasoning requires a lot of experience in the nursing profession.
According to the Rolfe’s model of reflection, the initial stage of reflection is reflecting
on what happened (Rolfe, Freshwater & Jasper, 2001). My clinical placement has
improved my clinical reasoning skills. Being able to think critically, as required by
standard one of the NMBA, helps me to solve the problems affecting the patient.
Clinical reasoning skills will enable me make effective and appropriate decisions
during the evaluation and assessment of patients (Kramer, et al., 2014). These skills
enable me to assess, interpret, analyse and conclusively find out the patient’s disturbing
condition. Apart from thinking, conducting research as well as working with other
colleagues will help me make informed decisions as I seek to find an appropriate
solution to a medical condition as required by standard six of the NMBA. As I aim to
become proficient in my undertakings in the nursing profession, I have to be competent
and always be ready to learn especially from previous experiences and mistakes that I
make. Developments of problem solving skills and proficiency will be improved by
consistent practice.
Conclusion
Transition from graduate nursing to professional nursing is not an easy task due
to several barriers that graduates encounter during the process. However, there are also
a number of strategies that can be implemented to facilitate smooth transition. The
resources needed for the transition such as mentors and counsellors are also available to
some graduates. The clinical skills appropriate to this transition should be carefully
managed to avoid mistakes during the practical application of nursing knowledge. If all
the necessary strategies are employed during this transition, then graduates will be able
to avoid anxiety and fear while practising medicine and dealing with deteriorating
patients (Hofler & Thomas, 2016). Therefore, it is necessary to look at all possible
strategies and implement them in order to facilitate the transition of graduate nurses.

NURSING 7
References
Benner P. (1984). From Novice to Expert. Menlo Park.
Blais, K.., & Hayes, J. S. (2016). Professioonal Nursing Practice: Concepts and Perspectives.
Pearson.
Bramhall, E. (2014). Effective communication skills in nursing practice. Nursing Standard, 53-
59.
Hofler, L., & Thomas, K. (2016). Transition of new graduate nurses to the workforce:
Challenges and solutions in the changing health care environment. North Carolina
Medical Journal, 77(2), 133-136. Retrieved 21st October 2018 from
http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/
Kaihlanen , A., Lakanmaa, R., & Salminen, L. (2013). The transition from nursing student to
registered nurse: The mentor’s possibilities to act as a supporter. Nurse Education in
Practice, 13(5), 418-422.
Kavanagh, J., & Szweda, C. (2017). A crisis in competency: The strategic and ethical
imperative to assessing new graduate nurses’ clinical reasoning. Nursing Education
Perspectives, 38(2), 57-61.
King, C. A. (2017). Clinical ethics: patient and provider safety. Aorn Journal, 1-2.
Kohtz, C., Brown, S. C., Williams, R., & O’Conner. (2017). Physical assessment techniques in
nursing education: A replicated study. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(5), 287-291.
Kramer, M., Brewer, B. B., Halfer, D., Hnatiuk, C. N., MacPhee, M., & Schmalenberg, C.
(2014). The Evolution and Development of an Instrument to Measure Essential
Professional Nursing Practices. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 569–576.
Kumar, A., & McHugh, M. (2017). Better Nurse Autonomy Decreases the Odds of 30-Day
Mortality and Failure to Rescue. Journal of nursing scholarship, 73-79.
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., Jasper, M. (2001) Critical reflection in nursing and the
helping professions: a user’s guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Smith, S. F. (2016). Clinical Nursing Skills: basic to advanced skills. Boston: Pearson.
Staunton , P., & Chiarella, M. (2016). Law for Nurses and Midwives. Elsevier.
Watkins, T., Whisman, L., & Booker, P. (2016). Nursing assessment of continuous vital sign
surveillance to improve patient safety on the medical/surgical unit. Journal of clinical
nursing, 278-281.