Nursing Health Services Research Unit
Providing Quality Care: Orientation and Mentorship for New Graduate Nurses Mabel Hunsberger, Andrea Baumann & Mary Crea-Arsenio Background
Features of the NGG
The gap between education and clinical work demands can be overwhelming for new graduate nurses. In 2007, the Ontario government introduced an employment policy, the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG), to stabilize the nursing workforce. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of the NGG, a governmentsupported extended orientation and mentorship program, on the transition of new graduate nurses to professional practice.
Methods A trend study was conducted over three years, 2008, 2009, 2010 using a mixed methods approach to data collection. Quantitative: Online surveys (i) Employers (ii) New graduate nurses Qualitative: (i) Focus groups with employers (ii) Individual interviews • new graduates and • frontline staff nurses.
Interview Findings Four common themes emerged from the interview data: 1. Stress Associated with Transition to Clinical Practice 2. The Value of Mentored Time 3. Toward Better Clinical Decisions and Safer Patient Care 4. Greater Productivity
Discussion Results Surveys On average, 90% of new graduate survey respondents indicated that the NGG orientation and mentorship facilitated their transition into nursing. Across the three years of study, an average of 93% of employers and 82% of new graduates rated their mentoring as above average. Interviews Twenty-one focus groups with 106 health care organizations, 53 interviews with new graduate nurses and15 interviews with frontline staff nurses mentors were conducted.
The issue of new graduates transitioning to the workplace is not new, but the problem of an education-practice gap has yet to be resolved. Without an effective approach to new graduate transition, employers may lose investments made in recruiting and orienting new hires and risk jeopardizing quality patient care. The NGG extended orientation/mentoring program has been valuable in easing the transition of new graduate nurses from education into professional practice.
Funded by:
Source: Hunsberger, M. Baumann, A., & Crea-Arsenio, M. (in press). The road to providing quality care: Orientation and mentorship for new graduate nurses. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.