Introduction
New nurse graduates often experience distress related to theory-to-practice gaps when transitioning to the professional clinical nurses. Caring for increasingly complex patients with multiple comorbidities also is their challenge. A Graduates Reasoning Advanced Interactive Nursing Skills (GRAINS) Program has designed for 2018 new nurse graduates in PYNEH to assist their transition. Through interactive scenario-based workstations, they can equip themselves with basic and advanced clinical skills on common nursing practices and enhance clinical competence.
Objectives
(1) to equip new nurse graduates with common and advanced nursing procedures to facilitate their role transition ensuring safe practice and critical thinking; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of GRAINS Program in improving knowledge, ability and confidence levels of new nurse graduates.
Methodology
The design of the GRAINS Program was based on the comments from the past new nurse graduates and the clinical preceptors. It integrated lectures, scenario drills and hand-on practices. From October 2018 to December 2018, four identical one-day classes had been organized with 7 topics including naso-gastric tube care, urethral catheterization, wound care, chest drain care, peritoneal dialysis care, tracheostomy care and central venous catheter care. The participants rated their own knowledge, ability and confidence levels before and after training by completing self-evaluation questionnaires. The scale was ranged from very low (1), low (2), moderate (3) to High (4). Mean scores were compared. Besides, the participants’ feedbacks were collected by evaluation questionnaires.
Results & Outcome
There were 108 new nurse graduates attended the GRAINS Program. The evaluation response rate was 99%. The overall mean score of self-rating in knowledge, ability and confidence levels increased from 2.48 to 3.26. The three highest topics with significant improvement were central venous catheter care, chest drain care and tracheostomy care and, mean scores increased from 2.07 to 3.09, from 2.26 to 3.19 and from 2.35 to 3.17 respectively. Also, 98% of participants were satisfied with the program as a whole. In conclusion, GRAINS Program could enhance knowledge, ability and confidence levels of the new nurse graduates to master 7 selected common nursing practices. Besides, through this program, safe nursing practice could be ensured.
Co-location with:
