What did nursing school actually teach you? Are you ready to start caring for patients right out of school? Did the NCLEX really prepare you to be a bedside nurse? Probably not. Most nurses right out of school feel like they did not learn anything and have no idea what true nursing actually is. It is always so surprising that such a rigorous 2-4 year nursing program is so textbook-focused with such a small percentage of time actually at the bedside. Other careers actually prepare students to begin working right out of school- Doctors have a residency and fellowship for years, physical therapists have months of clinical experience before graduation, etc. Many nursing programs only have one clinical per week with the rest in nursing labs or lectures in the classroom. I definitely did not feel prepared after graduation to actually be a nurse. I had such a great knowledge base, but struggled to put all that knowledge into practice at the bedside.
One of the most important factors into considering what to look for in a first job is a residency program. Residency programs involve all of the new graduate nurses and equip those nurses to be confident and competent at the bedside. The program I completed 4 years ago was recently re-accredited by the ANA and I was so thankful for it. I will detail the aspects that was presented within my residency program:
- one year in total; 1 session/month
- Skills day- the first session was all about learning and relearning the specific nursing skills required for the job in your unit utilizing the specific hospital’s policy and supplies
- Disease processes- relearning the different core measures and refreshing on different patient diagnosis
- Mentorships- Experienced nurses have the opportunity to mentor the new grads
- Evidence based practice- complete an EBP project on a topic of our choosing and present it at a hospital-wide EBP fair
These are just the highlights of my residency program, but it is so worth the extra time and effort to know how to be a great nurse.
Until next shift,
Shania