The transition process: joint responsibility of nurse educators and employers

The transition between school and work is a time of critical development for the beginning practitioner. Have nurse neophytes been set up for failure by academics? Are seasoned practitioners and administrators "eating our young" in service settings? What must be done to prepare confident and competent beginning practitioners? What must be done to ensure a working environment that encourages and nurtures the development of young nurses? Results of a brief survey conducted to determine if Canadian university schools of nursing invite feedback about competencies of new graduates, and a review of literature published about the subject, reveal that there is a limited interface in evaluating competencies of new graduates between university schools of nursing and clinical practice agencies. This paper discusses common issues in evaluation of new baccalaureate graduates' performance from the perspective of educators and employers. This paper also discusses issues related to the evaluation of new graduates as they are documented in the literature, findings of the aforementioned survey, and implications of the findings for nurse administrators and nurse educators.