Book Description

The first year of professional employment as a Registered Nurse is an exciting yet somewhat stressful time for the new graduate nurse. Most health care institutions provide opportunities to make the transition from student nurse to professional nurse through a new graduate nurse orientation. These orientations vary widely in the amount of time allowed, the resources provided the new graduate nurses, and the experiences afforded the new graduate nurses. Much of the research of these orientation programs looks at the impact of the orientation on retention of new graduate nurses. The body of research in this dissertation attempts to identify how and education-based new graduate nurse orientation contributes to retention by identifying essential elements of that orientation. Through a single case, explanatory, holistic case study multiple sources of evidence including archival data, one-on-one interviews with new graduate nurses who completed the orientation program, and a focus group interview of new graduate nurses who completed the orientation program were examined to answer the question of how the orientation impacts retention and which elements are essential for retention, satisfaction, increased competency levels, and ease of transition for the new graduate nurse. Using a theoretical framework including Chickering's psychosocial model of development and Romiszowski's analysis of knowledge and skill development, it is concluded that preceptorship is the essential element of new graduate nurse orientation that promotes new graduate nurse retention, satisfaction, increased competency levels, and ease of transition. Preceptorships facilitate the socialization necessary in orientation for new graduate nurses' success by affecting all elements of young adult development as well as providing the necessary continuation of acquisition of nursing knowledge and skills for the novice nurse. Implications of these findings as well as suggestions for future research are provided.