Better Equipping Nurses Prior To Graduation
Sean P Buckley
Grand Canyon University

Positive patient outcomes are the goal of all nursing interventions. Reaching that goal requires effort on the part of any nurse. The effort required and the path to which the goal is achieved can vary greatly among nurses pursuing the same outcome for the same patient in the same setting. All practicing nurses have achieved a level of demonstrated competency by passing the same standardized testing criteria. Many of these nurses will have arrived to that level of competency by very dissimilar means. There exists a level at which a nurse is expected to function. There is also a level at which a nurse can aspire to perform. Preparing student nurses in a manner that gives them the opportunity to exceed functional expectations is not only in the student’s interest. It serves the interest of the patient, the organization and the nurse herself. That preparation begins in the program of education in which they choose to enroll.
Oermann et al., (2010) state, “(n)ew graduates report that they are not prepared for practice and lack essential knowledge and clinical competencies, for example, caring for multiple patients, administering medications to large groups of patients, performing procedures, prioritizing care, supervising others and delegating tasks, communicating with physicians, and using information technology (p???.).” The practice of nursing is immensely complicated and obscure to new nurses. I can speak from my own experience as a diploma nurse grad. I had been the top performer in my class academically and enjoyed praise from my instructors and peers during clinical rotations. I fully expected to continue similar if not the same success during my graduate nurse experience in the Critical Care Unit of our hospital. Another nurse grad from a baccalaureate program began