Document Type

Dissertation

Title

Lived experience of transitioning to a new graduate nurse following a prelicensure hospital-based externship experience

Authors

Debra Shipman, Nova Southeastern University

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing Education

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Nursing

First Advisor

Marcella Rutherford

Publication Date / Copyright Date

2014

Publisher

Nova Southeastern University

NSUWorks Citation

Debra Shipman. 2014. Lived experience of transitioning to a new graduate nurse following a prelicensure hospital-based externship experience. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, College of Nursing. (11)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_con_stuetd/11.

Abstract

Forty years after Kramer's (1974) seminal work, Reality Shock, new graduate nurses continue to have difficulty transitioning to the registered nurse (RN) role. The purpose of this phenomenological study explores the lived experience of new graduate nurses who completed a Veterans Affairs externship program in their senior year of nursing coursework and its perceived impact on their successful transition into the practice role 3-24 months following graduation. Benner's (1984) Novice-to-Expert Model, Karmer's (1974) Reality Shock Theory, and Selder's (1989) Life Transition Theory support a framework for this study. Twelve telephone interviews were conducted using van Manen's (1990) method for researching the lived experience. One overarching theme "feeling confident" and three main categories, "transitioning to the RN role," "making decisions," and "interacting with professionals," were identified from the data. Externship programs assist the student to comfortably and smoothly transition as a new graduate nurse by offering additional clinical and practice experiences. Given the complexity of today's health care environment, there is a growing need to better prepare the graduate nurse for their transition into nursing practice. Externship programs can serve this purpose.

Disciplines

Nursing

Keywords

Health and environmental sciences, Education, Baccalaureate of science in nursing, New graduate nurse, Nursing education, Nursing externship, Nursing residency, Transition-to-practice

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