Assessing New Graduate Nurse Performance

Abstract

New graduate nurses now comprise more than 10% of a typical hospital's nursing staff, with this number certain to grow given the increasing numbers of entrants into the nurse workforce. Concomitantly, only 10% of hospital and health system nurse executives believe their new graduate nurses are fully prepared to provide safe and effective care. As part of a multipronged research initiative on bridging the preparation-practice gap, the Nursing Executive Center administered a national survey to a cross section of frontline nurse leaders on new graduate nurse proficiency across 36 nursing competencies deemed essential to safe and effective nursing practice. Based on survey data analysis, the authors discuss the most pressing and promising opportunities for improving the practice readiness of new graduate nurses.

Perceptions of clinical competence among nurse pregraduates: Do different types of nursing programs make a difference?

“…In one study, only 10.4% of hospital nurse executives agreed that new graduate nurses are fully prepared to provide safe and effective care in the hospital setting [4] . In the same study, only 25% of nurse leaders were fully satisfied with new graduate nurses' performance at the entry time of their jobs.…”

“…(3) What components of competence need to be reinforced before the students graduate? (4) What are the changes in nurse students' clinical competence between one year before graduation and at the time of graduation?…”

Effective patient safety education for novice RNs: A systematic review

“…[7][8][9] More than 10% of the acute care nursing workforce are newly licensed, novice registered nurses (RN) who have a notably higher risk of patient harm during their practice. [10] Novice RNs, those with less than 2 years of practice experience have formal education but limited practical experience. Evidence suggests a relationship between patient safety and number of years of practice.…”

Developing and validating the Clinical Competence Questionnaire: A self-assessment instrument for upcoming baccalaureate nursing graduates

“…In a survey conducted with 57,000 nurse leaders, only 25% were fully satisfied with the performance of new nursing graduates at the time of their initial employment [4] . The challenge for nurse educators, therefore, is to promote nursing students' competence before graduation to ensure the students' competence levels prior to their first entry into practice [1] .…”