The Experience of the Novice Nurse: A Human Becoming Perspective

Abstract

The well-publicized current shortage of nurses and nurse faculty to teach future generations of nurses intensifies the need to recruit and retain nurses engaged in professional practice. This suggests the importance of being concerned with the quality of the work and professional life of the practicing professional nurse. In this column, the stories of 10 new graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs are explored, illuminating experiences of novice nurses. Themes of the new graduates were identified. The themes are: learning a new culture, sharing a journey, being unsure with changing views, considering the possibilities, and being respected. It is hoped that this column will further the dialogue and promote projects among nurses to explore possibilities in originating new ways of being and becoming in nursing practice.