The transitional journey through the graduate year: A focus group study

Abstract

Background: Becoming a new graduate nurse is both a complex and stressful transition. Graduates must socialise into the context of nursing practice, become accountable for patient care and ward activities, interact with other health professionals and develop their own clinical expertise. In Australia, many hospitals provide Graduate Year Programmes to assist new graduates to assimilate into their new roles and environments. Aims: This paper describes a study that explored how graduate nurses develop their knowledge and skills during their graduate programmes, as well as identifies factors assisting or hindering knowledge and skill acquisition. Methods: Employing a qualitative approach, this ..