The practical skills of newly qualified nurses

• Published in: Nurse education today Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 168 - 172
• Main Authors: Danbjørg, Dorthe Boe, Birkelund, Regner
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2011; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Aristotelian theories of knowledge; Clinical Competence - standards; Evidence-Based Nursing; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Informants; Intuition; Learning; Newly qualified; Newly qualified nurses; Nurses; Nurses - standards; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing Theory; Participant Observation; Practical experience; Professional training; Qualitative Research; Skill development; Studies; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Training; Denmark; Aristotelian theories of knowledge; Nursing theory; Newly qualified nurses; Practical experience
• ISSN: 0260-6917; 1532-2793
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2010.05.013

This paper reports the findings from a study of newly qualified nurses and which subjects the nurses regarded as the most important in order to be able to live up to the requirements of clinical practice, and how they experience their potential for developing practical and moral skills, after the decrease in practical training. A qualitative approach guided the research process and the analysis of the data. The data was collected by participant observation and qualitative interviews with four nurses as informants.
The conclusions made in this study are based on the statements and the observations of the newly qualified nurses. Our findings are discussed in relation to the Aristotelian concept and other relevant literature.
The main message is that the newly qualified nurses did not feel equipped when they finished their training. This could be interpreted as a direct consequence of the decrease in practical training.
Our study also underlines that the way nursing theory is perceived and taught is problematic. The interviews revealed that the nurses think that nursing theories should be applied directly in practice. This misunderstanding is probably also applicable to the teachers of the theories.