A journey to becoming: the student nurse in transition

Abstract

The study reported in this paper explored the nature of the transition experienced by student nurses in their journey to becoming qualified nurses. In keeping with the developing relationship between the disciplines of anthropology and nursing, the methodology of choice was ethnography. Data were collected by open-ended questionnaires and interviews with key informants from one English College of Nursing undertaking Diploma level Project 2000 Adult Branch Studies. Thematic analysis of the data revealed an ill-defined transition for the student nurse and this lack of clarity was being perpetuated for many by their dual role as both student nurse and worker. This was also creating a potential role conflict and a blurring of the boundaries between professional nursing and skilled health care work. The data also revealed two 'in limbo' states, a ritualized transition phase, and that the rationale for 'learning to become a nurse' retains the idealized and vocational imagery of nursing as helping and caring for sick people.

Korean nursing students’ experiences of their first clinical practice

“…This result is consistent with those of other studies [3,13,14] that reported the clinical practice experience of nursing students as a sense of gap between theories and actual practice, confusion of the identity of nursing, chaos coming from various dynamic models. The clinical practice of nursing students is an unclear learning transition that entails role conflicts and vague boundaries [15] .…”

Stress and stressors in the clinical environment: a comparative study of fourth‐year student nurses and newly qualified general nurses in Ireland

“…There is a general consensus in the literature that a newly qualified nurse experiences significant stress (Charnley, 1999;Holland, 1999;Godinez et al, 1999;Ross and Clifford, 2002). But Hyde and Brady (2002) note that the student years are not completely stress free either.…”

“…All participants were from a single site in Ireland and a small sample limited generalisability, as acknowledged by the author. Holland (1999) has explored the transition experiences of the student nurse throughout training in England using an ethnographical approach. Despite theoretical evidence to support supernumerary status, there appears to be a conflict in the role of the non-waged student between that of student and that of a worker.…”

Mentoring Nurse Practitioners in a Hospital Setting

“…As conflicts may develop during their transition, mentoring can facilitate negotiations and adaptation. Mentors are viewed as the catalysts to gaining the knowledge and skills required to perform the new role within the new social and/or professional group (Barton, 2007;Holland, 1999).…”