Preparedness to practice as perceived by the graduate nurse, nursing faculty and hospital leadership

Date

2014-01-01

Authors

Wright, Angela Patrice

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Abstract

The purpose of this cross-sectional survey was to explore the differences in the perceptions of preparedness to practice of the graduate nurse as reported by hospital nursing leadership, the graduate nurse, and nursing faculty as measured by the Nursing Practice Readiness Tool (NPRT). Graduate nurses (less than 6 months post-graduation from AD and BS programs and working in acute care facilities), nursing faculty teaching senior-level courses in AD and BS programs, and hospital nursing leadership (acute care CNOs, directors, managers) completed an electronic version of the NPRT that asked participants (N=58) to rate their level of satisfaction with new graduate proficiency on 36 key nursing competencies. Significant differences in level of satisfaction were found between the 3 groups for total score (p<.005) as well as for 5 of the 6 subscales: Clinical Knowledge, Critical Thinking, Communication, Professionalism, and Management of Responsibilities. Hospital nursing leadership reported the lowest satisfaction scores for all subscales. Delegation of tasks' and conflict resolution' were two of the items with the lowest satisfaction ranking. The findings from this unique study delineate many opportunities to address gaps in preparedness to practice as viewed by 3 different perspectives. For example, 77% of the graduate nurses were satisfied with their ability to prioritize,' while only 42% of faculty and 21% of hospital leadership were satisfied with this competency. However, the 3 groups were almost equal in satisfaction with respect for diverse cultures' and `utilization of information technologies.' Academia and service must work together to better prepare new graduate nurses.

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Keywords

Nursing Science, Health and environmental sciences, Graduate nurses, Perception, Preparedness to practice, Readiness

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