Huston_Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing,

Chapter 16 Educating and Socializing Staff in a Learning Organization

407

LEARNING EXERCISE 16.2

Most hospitals have developed prolonged orientation periods for new graduates that last from 6 weeks to 6 months. This extended orientation, or internship , contrasts sharply with the routine 2-week orientation that is normal for most other employees. During this time, graduate nurses are usually assigned to work with a preceptor and gradually take on a patient assign ment equal to that of the preceptor. Even longer internships, known as nurse residencies , or transition-to-practice programs, were discussed in Chapter 11. Resocialization of the Experienced Nurse Resocialization occurs when experienced individuals must learn new values, skills, attitudes, and social rules because of changes in the type of work they do, the scope of responsibility they hold, or in the work setting itself. Assumptions may be made that such individuals already have expertise they do not, because the knowledge and skills to assume the new role may be very different. Individuals who frequently need resocialization include experienced nurses who change work settings, either within the same organization or in a new organization, and nurses who undertake new roles. For example, the transition from expert to novice is very difficult. Many nurses transfer or change jobs because they no longer find their present job challenging. However, this results in the need to assume a learning role in their new environment. The employee assigned to orient the nurse in role transition should be aware of the difficulties that this nurse will experience. Transferred employees’ lack of knowledge in the new area should never be belittled, and whenever possible, the special expertise they bring from their former work area should be acknowledged and utilized. Another difficult transition is from the familiar to the unfamiliar . In new positions, employ ees must not only learn new job skills, typically they must work in an unfamiliar environment. Special orientation materials should be developed and updated frequently to reflect current practices and made available in departments to which nurses transfer most often. In addition to providing necessary staff development content, these orientation programs should focus on Investigating Emotional Exhaustion in New Graduates T alk with at least four nursing graduates who have been working as nurses for at least 3 months and no more than 3 years. Make sure at least two of them are recent graduates and two of them have been working at least 18 months. Ask them about their socialization to nursing after graduation. Did any of them have trouble transitioning from academe to clinical practice? If so, how long did it last? Did they recover? If so, how? Did the COVID pandemic impact their orientation and socialization experience? Share your findings with other members of your group.

LEARNING EXERCISE 16.3

Great Influences W ho or what has been the greatest influence on your socialization to the nursing role? Were positive or negative sanctions used? Write a short essay (three or four paragraphs) describing this socialization. If appropriate, share this in a group.