Competence requirements of newly licensed nurses as reported by hiring nurse managers

47^th Global Nursing & Healthcare Conference

March 01-03, 2018 | London, UK

Delos Jones, Ellen Kurtzman, Susan Watson and Judity Midge Elkins

Roseman University of Health Sciences, Henderson, USA
The George Washington University, Washington DC,USA
Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

In 2016, 1,63,087 new Registered Nurses (RNs) were licensed in the United States. Of these, over a quarter will leave their first position in less than a year. While 90% of academic leaders feel newly graduated nurses are ready for practice, only 10% of clinical leaders agree. Recent changes in health care, and an intensifying theory-practice gap hint that newly licensed nurses (NLNs) may not be equipped for todayâ�?�?s workplace. This qualitative study asked â�?�?What do hiring nurse managers and hospital educators perceive as required competencies of NLNs to ensure successful and safe orientation?â�? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with hiring nurse managers and hospital based nurse educators responsible for orienting NLNs. Emergent themes from the study were â�?�?readiness to learnâ�?, â�?�?physical assessment skillsâ�? and â�?�?empowermentâ�?. Some desired NLN abilities reflect a lack of understanding of the nursing school curricula by nurse managers. Understanding the knowledge, skills and attitudes hiring nurse managers feel NLNs should posses may help academia better prepare new nurses for todayâ�?�?s workplace orientation and increase NLN longevity in their first nursing position. Furthermore, more focus should be placed on empowering students without adding to feelings of entitlement, and achieving an advanced beginner level on basic nursing skills. In addition, confidence and communication skills are critical for the NLN but seem lacking to those who hire them. More research is needed on the types of communication expected by nurse managers and the perspective of the academician in relation to preparation of NLNs in relation to this emergent trend.

Biography :

Delos Jones received his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Idaho State Unversity. After working on telemetry units and in cardiology, he returned to school receiving his Master’s Degree in Nursing and Clinical Research from The George Washington University where he is currently enrolled to complete a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Education. He has been in nursing education for the past 8 years. He currently works as the Director of Clinical Resources for Roseman University of Helath Sciences near Las Vegas, Nevada.