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Are graduate nurses’ workforce ready?

Nursing

For those who are regular followers of our blog, you might have noticed a comment that was made on one of our articles in August. It said:

“I’ve read a fair bit of commentary stating that many new-grads just aren’t up-to the standards that health services expect of them. What are some of the common deficiencies which health services are identifying in new-grads? And has anyone suggestions for how to address these deficiencies?”

So we thought it was about time there was some discussion on whether graduate nurses are indeed workforce ready. In this article, we will share 3 perspectives, and we’ve also added in some information to debunk the myth that graduate nurses must go into a grad program.

So let’s make a start……

 

Fiona Lotherington – registered nurse who supervises nursing students in a university clinical laboratory

“Are new grad nurses ready for the workforce?

This is a great question and one I have been contemplating for some time. I am in the fortunate position of being able to observe nursing students in the clinical nursing labs as they progress through their degree. I provide technical support for these labs and part of this role is to be the voice of the patient during simulations. Here I am able to observe first hand their level of skills and knowledge, as well as how they communicate and work within a team. I have also had the opportunity to observe students on practical placement, both as a clinical teacher and when I have been working on the wards.

Overall I would say that this question cannot be answered with one brush stroke. Not all nursing students are the same, as many factors such as their past experiences and level of commitment all play a part in how ready they are for the work force. Every year, I observe some students who appear to be ‘work ready’ and some who do not.

When nursing students are asked the question of whether they feel ready to graduate, they would almost all say ‘Yes’ but they would have liked a lot more practical experience throughout their degree. I find their degree equips the students with knowledge and skills essential to be able to assess and treat their patients. It also provides an opportunity for students to become aware of and question many issues in nursing, such as legalities, ethics, their understanding of their own health and that of their patients and families.

However, there are fundamental aspects of nursing that I have found almost all nursing students have not developed to the point where they are ready for the workforce. The reality of nursing for many is understaffing, time pressures, stress, bullying, physical and emotional drain, and a culture that asks nurses to care for others selflessly, whilst disregard themselves.

Without inner confidence and a high level of care for themselves, students are left to find a way to manage these pressures as best they can, either using the coping mechanisms they saw as they grew up or modelling themselves on registered nurses who may themselves be unhealthy, stressed or burnt out. I have found that students tend to believe that studying harder and acquiring more knowledge is the answer, but this is only offers a false sense of security. Without an unwavering level of care for themselves, their own health and wellbeing, our student nurses are like toddlers thrown into a pool without floaties. We can only hope they will survive and not be too traumatised by the experience!

And finally and possibly most importantly, I have observed that our students are largely unaware of their greatest asset when they enter the workforce and are therefore already on the back foot. Throughout life, students are not encouraged to value above and beyond all that they know and can do, their qualities ¬¬– the things that make them a great nurse. This is what our patient’s love about us; our calm, humour, or ability to listen without judging. Whatever it is for each student, they need to need to be supported to identify and grow these qualities, so they know their value and what they are delivering, along with the medications and procedures. This, combined with a self-caring way of life would set each student nurse up with a solid foundation, ready for anything.”

 

Annie Butler – Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation

We had a comment submitted to us by ANMF Assistant Federal Secretary Annie Butler.

“The ANMF welcomes meaningful debates and discussions on the profession of nursing and the best directions for its future. One of the most often discussed elements of this is the ‘work-readiness’ of nursing graduates, both enrolled and registered nurses.

This discussion has been a hot topic now since the transfer of nursing education to the tertiary sector, two – three decades ago. In some ways it’s disappointing that it still continues.

There is no doubt that our graduates, as they have always done and as occurs with all other health professions, need proper support to make a successful transition from student to practising nurse. But our profession has a tendency to judge our new generations rather harshly.

Nursing is unique. We are the only one of the health professions that works so constantly. We must be on duty all hours of the day, all days of the year – in far greater numbers than any other health professional. And meeting this requirement is not always easy, especially for new graduates.

The pressures of health service requirements and budget inadequacies coupled with increasingly sophisticated procedures and interventions mean that assimilation of all that is required for modern nursing graduate takes time and necessitates support – from the environment, from other health professionals and most of all from us, experienced nurses.

It’s our responsibility to nurture and mentor our next generations and to advocate for resources which enable us to achieve this – proper staffing, clinical educators and reasonable workloads.

The future of our profession and its ability to care for the community is in our hands.”

 

Nicole Nash-Arnold – Director at Nurse Manager HQ

“I am a nurse manager who has spent my 15 years grappling with the concept of employing work ready graduates. But harder than that is coping with the senior nurse’s unrest about graduates. Hence, I developed a program called “Skills Mapping” that is designed for senior nurses to map where their team’s skills lie, identify deficits and build a departmental learning needs analysis based on what they find.

However, the true value lies in the shift that occurs within the senior nurses developing a broader understanding of what junior nurses add to the team, other than the negatives and how they stop “Expert Error” that occurs in highly skilled teams.”

 

ASANNA – debunking the myth that a graduate program is mandatory

In the week commencing the 22nd June, The Australian Student and Novice Nurse Association (ASANNA) in collaboration with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) tested some claims around graduate placements by entering search terms “registered nurse” and “advertised in the last two weeks” into www.Seek.com.

The test is a preliminary step in debunking myths that claim:

  • It is mandatory to have done a grad year
  • Employers will not hire a person unless they have done a grad year
  • Applicants must have had at least one years’ experience

ASANNA and ANMF acknowledge that because the test is not a rigorous academic survey or study, it certainly has limitations, including the use of only one search engine, the fact that some grad programs had not at the time opened or else may have closed, that some of the advertisements were duplicated, and whether the advertisements were actual positions or is it just nursing employment agencies seeking to fill their databases.

Whilst the test was not a robust research, it did show the basic understanding of what the picture looks like. The total number of search return was 1687, while there were only 13 Graduate Programs advertised. The test found:

  • 1 positions vacant listed “new grad need not apply as this position is not suited to you”
  • 1 positions stated “must have done a grad program”
  • 9% of positions advertised had no experience listed
  • 88% required at least one years’ experience.

The results highlight that there is very little evidence to support the claim that ‘it is mandatory to have done a grad year’ or that ‘employers will not hire a person unless they have done a grad year’, but the 88% requirement of ‘at least one years’ experience’ makes a newly graduated Registered Nurse ineligible to apply.

We would love to hear comments and discussion from nursing students who are recent graduates, or will be graduating in the coming weeks. Please comment below on whether you think you are “ready” for the challenges of the workforce.

 

More articles and resources on My Health Career:

Image: Stuart Miles – freedigitalphotos.net

3 replies to “Are graduate nurses’ workforce ready?”

  1. I am just completing my last prac and feeling very stressed and barely or only just making the required (what ever that is?) level of ability to enter the workforce.
    I have had little feedback that is empowering and feel like the only thing that gets noticed are the mistakes I make. I feel a lot of pressure as I want to feel confident to enter the work force and without positive support or encouragement by those who are experienced I don’t know whether I am of value? I know I have very valuable qualities as a nurse and am very capable and careful in safety and assessment but the pressure of time management and realistic expectation of developing speed and efficiency – takes time. This to me has a great impact on my confidence as a nurse and as a team member. I do not want to put more pressure on the already over burdened staff and or be going home having feeling even tho all the main boxes (hopefully) are ticked the quality of care is compromised due to time constraints. The staffing level i have found is very often not adequate for the patient need levels or the student need levels. I am paying to be educated as a student, paying to do a placement to be fit for work in an environment that is overburdened and too demanding for its adequate requirements.

  2. Nursing is truly an amazing and unique profession. Broad in it’s application, intimate in the way we work with people, scientific in how we approach our work and very hands on and practical. We can be highly specialised or a jack of all trades. Our new graduates are the future of nursing, leaders, clinicians and mangers. Exactly what all of us in nursing do now. However if we look at our current health status nursing is not travelling so well. If I look at my own work place sick leave is everyday, we have people off for a long time for treatments, we have difficulty replacing staff because staff are simply not wanting to come to work for extra shifts. Workloads and skill mix are all very important, but is this all? How are we supporting our young when we really struggle to do this for ourselves. Self-Care has to be foundational in any nurse training. Supporting them as people first just makes sense, because we see so much in nursing. I particularly like this from Fiona Lotherington…”Whatever it is for each student, they need to be supported to identify and grow these qualities, so they know their value and what they are delivering, along with the medications and procedures. This, combined with a self-caring way of life would set each student nurse up with a solid foundation, ready for anything” When we really start to look at this is nursing, nursing will change as will the way we are with our patients.

  3. You raise some interesting points here. It is not only in nursing that we have poor role models in self-care but at home, in our families and at school. So this lack of self-care is something that I expect you would find in all workplaces. Self-care is essential and should be a part of any curriculum but only taught by people who actually practice it. If you don’t look after yourself how can you look after anyone else? On the subject of work ready, I trained as a nurse at a London Teaching Hospital in the 70s. We learnt on the job and jumped straight in the deep end. We spent 3 months on every different kind of ward with small blocks of study between each rotation. I am sure it was a MUCH better system than the Uni one you have in Australia.

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