nursing student

[jwisema1]

I was wondering if anyone knows the overall expectations that a nurse manager or staff nurse has of a new graduate nurse, expectations of skill proficiency, and how they view the new graduate as a contributing member of the healthcare team.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback!

[Icare4u2]

you should have received a copy of a skills check list and other expectations during your orientation. it's probably in that huge pile of stuff somewhere by your computer:lol2:. your manager should evaluate you on that written set of criteria. he or she should also ask you for some goals and what you think you have accomplished and if you think you got a good orientation. the eval is the time to discuss with your manager if what you are doing has met your expectations as well. there should be some areas you need to focus on and some areas where you do well. the important thing to remember is that it is not something to fear, though we all do come evaluation time. it is a tool to help us identify areas of strengths and weaknesses

and a opportunity to set goals for ourselves. good luck!! kim

[llg, PhD, RN]

I hate to state the obvious, but there is no standard set of expectations. It varies widely depending on the particular unit, the particular manager, etc.

For example, I used to coordinate orientations for neonatal ICU. We never expected new grads to come with many actual clinical skills in that specialiized field. We knew that no students learned much about NICU in school. We were more interested in general intelligence, attitude, temperament, and the ability to learn the skills we were prepared to teach. Orientations generally last 14-18 weeks for such units and even after orientation, the new grad is expected to have a long tranistional period during which he/she will need continued support.

However, in a general med/surg unit that only gives 4-6 weeks of orientation, the new grad is expected to be independent much sooner and to come with some experience with general med/surg patients. So, the expectations are different.

The job application process and interview gives you a chance to explore the expectations of particular units with their managers. That's what the process is for. It gives you a chance to ask questions etc. that will help you decide if that unit is a good fit for you. Your selection of a job should be heavily influenced by your assessment of the "fit" between your skills and preferences and the expectations of the unit. If you use the opportunities provided by the application/interview process well, you can save yourself a lot of heartache later by eliminating those jobs that aren't a good match for you.