Nurses have the distinct honor of caring for patients as they enter this world, when they leave this world, and at multiple points in between. Throughout all of these patient care experiences, one common theme is essential, patient safety. At this time in nursing, with the looming nursing shortage, more and more new graduates are being hired into a variety of different health care roles and are expected to provide safe patient care while juggling multiple patient assignments. Although placed into these roles, many nurse graduates report that they don't feel prepared to transition to practice and provide safe patient care. The stress felt by these new graduate nurses can lead to decreased satisfaction, comfort, and confidence, all of which can lead to increased problems with patient safety. Due to the fact that new graduate nurses may not be prepared to provide safe patient care, transition programs are being utilized to assist in the transition from school to practice.
This course is designed for new nurses and members of the nursing team responsible for helping integrate new nurses into practice.
The purpose of this course is to provide new nurses, nurse managers, leaders, and educators with information about transition to practice programs, including how to implement these programs in the healthcare setting, in order to improve care and safety.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Explain the purpose of transition to practice programs for new graduate nurses.
- Identify the consequences associated with poor transition to practice.
- Discuss Patricia Benner's novice to expert theory.
- List the essential components of transition to practice programs.
- Explain the significance of the preceptor in transition to practice programs.
- Explain how to implement a transition to practice program.
- Identify resources available for managers, leaders, and educators.
- Consider implications for the future of transition to practice programs.
Amanda Perkins, MSN, DNP, is a DNP-prepared registered nurse with a focus in healthcare leadership. Prior to obtaining her DNP, she obtained an MSN with a focus on nursing education. She currently works full-time as an Associate Professor of Nursing at Vermont Tech and per-diem at Gifford Medical Center on the medical-surgical unit and in the long-term care facility. Dr. Perkins also sits on the editorial board, writes, and peer-reviews for the journal Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! She has experience in a variety of settings, including long-term care, residential care, medical-surgical, women and children, intensive care, and inpatient psychiatric units.
Contributing faculty, Amanda Perkins, MSN, DNP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.
#31060: Transitioning New Graduate Nurses to Practice
Nurses play an essential role in the healthcare field, especially when it comes to patient care. Nurses have the distinct honor of caring for patients as they enter this world, when they leave this world, and at multiple points in between. Throughout all of these patient care experiences, one common theme is essential: patient safety. Nurses are responsible for promoting and maintaining patient safety, in addition to creating changes that improve patient safety, when needed. At this time in nursing, with the looming nursing shortage, more and more new graduates are being hired into a variety of different nursing roles and are expected to provide safe patient care while juggling multiple patient assignments. Although placed into these roles and expected to provide safe patient care, many nurse graduates report that they do not feel prepared to transition to practice and provide safe patient care upon graduation. The stress felt by these new graduate nurses can lead to decreased satisfaction, comfort, and confidence, all of which can lead to increased problems with patient safety.
Due to the fact that new graduate nurses may not be prepared to provide safe patient care upon graduation, transition-to-practice programs are being utilized to assist in the transition from school to practice. The purpose of this course is to provide nurse managers, leaders, and educators with information about transition-to-practice programs, including how to implement these programs in healthcare settings.
Learners should engage with the webinar, below, and the provided resources to explore the topics covered in this course.
The following webinar, produced by NetCE, provides a discussion of the transition of new graduate nurses to practice.
Implicit bias and culturally responsive health care are complex subjects. The following resources are provided in the event that you are interested in further exploring the topic, or even trying some of the approaches discussed in this webinar.
| UC Health |
| https://www.uchealth.org |
| American Nurses Association |
| https://www.nursingworld.org |
| American Association of Colleges of Nursing |
| https://www.aacnnursing.org |
| Casey Fink Surveys |
| https://www.caseyfinksurveys.com |
| National League for Nursing |
| https://www.nln.org |
| Institute of Medicine |
| The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health |
| https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209880 |
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