Need help...Specialty experience requirements

[Coopster1]

Need help on this. I'm trying to justify having a minimum number of years experience for agency/travel nurses. For example, our current standard is you have to have two years of recent (within 6 months) experience in your specialty (ED, ICU, MS, PCU). The question I need an answer for is "why?". Looking for any research sources....I'm coming up dry.

[hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I]

When I was touring with a nurse manager for school it was explained that the two year experience rule is basically because hospitals that utilize agency/travel nurses want people who can hit the floor running as far as skills and time management goes. They are not going to spend 8 or 10 weeks orienting you.

Hppy

[frozenmedic]

My suspicion is you can't find any research because logically this speaks for itself. Travel nurses are generally given minimal orientation (2 shifts-2 weeks generally) and then expected to be able to safely care for patients in an unfamiliar environment. Therefore, their essential nursing skills need to be sharp. Many (new) nurses participate in extensive residency/orientation programs, which are great, but don't actually have a nurse working by themselves for 3-6 months, so at the year mark they actually have minimal independent practice time. Having a 2 year minimum generally ensures all nurses have the background they need to practice safely.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I strongly agree with the previous posters. If you need actual research studies, don't look for "research on travelers." It such a common sense topic that few people (in anyone) would waste resources doing a specific study comparing results on experienced nurses vs new grads as travelers. There would be no comparison group of people hired as travelers who had no experience in the field.

Instead, look at the large body of literature on the time it takes to develop competence in a new field ... studies of how long it takes for new grads to become competent ... etc. You might even find some research on how long it takes to develop competence when a nurse switches from one specialty to another. Defining your search parameters to capture a broader range of literature based on the same conceptual question might help you find something relevant to the underlying question.