A Soft Landing for New Nurses

In speaking with large numbers of new nurses over the years, I consistently hear that novice nurses are not often given the guidance, nurturing, and mentoring that they truly need to move from surviving to thriving in their new nursing careers. New nurses need a " soft landing " as they enter the field, and it ' s up to us seasoned nurses to make sure they get it.Photo by Alex Lehner on UnsplashIf you ' re a nurse, take yourself back to when you were new to the profession. What was it like when you began your first job? Did you feel properly prepared? Were you scared to death? Did you feel like an imposter? Did you feel as if you had ten thumbs and couldn ' t remember anything you ' d learned? Did you feel like your education had been a waste of time and you should simply return to waiting tables? How were you treated as you gained confidence and skill?Many new nurses feel like impostors, and while they ' re scared to death to make an error and harm a patient, they ' re also often lonely, disconnected, and needing support as they find their " nurse legs " .Seasoned nurses have been known to roll their eyes when a new grad gets hired, thinking only of themselves and how that novice nurse will just create more work for them in terms of teaching, guiding, and assisting the new arrival, whether through formal preceptorship and mentoring or simple on-the-job guidance.However, that cynical seasoned nurse needs to remember how it was when they began their career, and ...
Source: Digital Doorway - Category: Nursing Tags: career career development healthcare careers new nurses nurse career nurse careers nurse wellness nursing nursing careers Source Type: blogs