Susan Prion

Competence gaps among unemployed new nursing graduates entering a community-based transition-to-practice program.

Multiple reports document competence gaps among employed new RN graduates. Less is known about the competence and confidence of new RN graduates who have not yet found employment in nursing. As part of an academic/practice partnership model, 4 collaboratives provided transition-to-practice programs for newly graduated and licensed, but unemployed, RNs. The authors describe the new nurses’ characteristics on program entry and discuss implications for nursing education and practice.

Preparing New Nurse Graduates for Practice in Multiple Settings: A Community-Based Academic–Practice Partnership Model

Responding to local and national concerns about the nursing workforce, the California Institute for Nursing and Health Care worked with private and public funders and community health care partners to establish community-based transition-to-practice programs for new RN graduates unable to secure nursing positions in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goals were to retain new RN graduates in nursing and further develop their skills and competencies to increase their employability. Leaders from academic and inpatient, ambulatory, and community-based practice settings, as well as additional community partners, collaboratively provided four 12- to 16-week pilot transition programs in 2010-2011. A total of 345 unemployed new nurse graduates enrolled. Eighty-four percent of 188 respondents to a post-program survey were employed in inpatient and community settings 3 months after completion. Participants and clinical preceptors also reported increases in confidence and competence.

Comparison of student experience with critical events during simulation and acute care hospital rotations.

An exploratory study was conducted to determine critical events for adult patients and to verify critical events that nursing students experienced in their nursing programs. Sophomores and juniors were surveyed regarding frequency of exposure to critical events. Sophomores reported greater differences between simulation and clinical practice, with most in simulation. Juniors were more balanced in exposure to critical events, in both clinical practice and simulation. This information provides feedback on critical events, clinical experiences, and how to use simulation to lessen the experience gap.

Economic aspects of community-based academic-practice transition programs for unemployed new nursing graduates.

Four partnerships between schools of nursing and practice sites provided grant-funded 12- to 16-week transition programs to increase confidence, competence, and employability among new RN graduates who had not yet found employment in nursing. Per capita program costs were

Academic–Practice Partnerships for Unemployed New Graduates in California

2,721. Eighty-four percent of participants completing a postprogram employment survey became employed within 3 months; 55% of participants became employed at their program practice site. Staff development educators may find this model a useful adjunct to in-house nurse residency programs for new RN graduates.

Preceptor and Self-Evaluation Competencies Among New RN Graduates.

In California, academic-practice partnerships offer innovative transition programs to new registered nurse (RN) graduates who have not yet found positions in nursing. This report describes the formation of 4 partnerships between 1 or more schools of nursing and clinical practice sites that included hospitals and nonacute care settings, such as hospice, clinics, school districts, and skilled nursing facilities. Factors facilitating the partnerships included relationships established as nurse leaders from practice and academia came together to address previous workforce issues, positive interpersonal experiences, an independent convening and coordinating organization, a shared understanding of the employment challenge faced by new RN graduates, and a shared vision for its solution. Partnerships face continuing challenges that include sustaining engagement, resource constraints, and insufficient nursing leadership succession planning. Partnership benefits include improved relationships between academia and practice, a forum to address contemporary issues in nursing education and practice advances, and stimulation of a reassessment of how to integrate ambulatory, transitional, and community-based nursing into prelicensure education.

Student-Directed Video Validation of Psychomotor Skills Performance: A Strategy to Facilitate Deliberate Practice, Peer Review, and Team Skill Sets

Four transition-to-practice programs for new RN graduates who had not yet found employment in nursing were based on the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies of knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs). To support consistent evaluation of participants by preceptors, a 35-item tool was developed that used a 4-point scale to assess selected behaviors. This article describes the initial reliability and validity testing of the tool, which had good internal consistency, with a Cronbachs alpha of 0.92 for preceptor evaluation of participants and 0.82 when used as a self-evaluation tool. Six content experts evaluated the tools face validity; it successfully discriminated between junior-level baccalaureate nursing students and nursing faculty. Although the tool does not exhaustively reflect the QSEN KSAs, it provides a way to assess competencies among new nurse graduates.

A Practical Framework for Evaluating the Impact of Clinical Simulation Experiences in Prelicensure Nursing Education

Abstract Background Essential nursing skills for safe practice are not limited to technical skills, but include abilities for determining salience among clinical data within dynamic practice environments, demonstrating clinical judgment and reasoning, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork competence. Effective instructional methods are needed to prepare new nurses for entry-to-practice in contemporary healthcare settings. Method This mixed-methods descriptive study explored self-reported perceptions of a process to self-record videos for psychomotor skill performance evaluation in a convenience sample of 102 pre-licensure students. Results Students reported gains in confidence and skill acquisition using team skills to record individual videos of skill performance, and described the importance of teamwork, peer support, and deliberate practice. Conclusion Although time consuming, the production of student-directed video validations of psychomotor skill performance is an authentic task with meaningful accountabilities that is well-received by students as an effective, satisfying learner experience to increase confidence and competence in performing psychomotor skills.