[Transition from student nurse to staff nurse]

When new staff nurses leave school and enter the working world they experience a shock that is all the greater because of their limited clinical experience. Difficulty in adjustment and a high attrition rate have been noted among new staff nurses as they navigate this challenging and stressful transition. New staff nurses experience excessive workloads, a shortage of practical and managerial skills, great differences between their educational priorities and the reality of clinical practice, and the feeling of a lack of support. Setting up a preceptorship system to support and guide the professional development, psychological adjustment and career planning of individual nurses would help to foster positive socialization, reduce levels of anxiety and increase job satisfaction among nurses. In turn, if this is accomplished, it will lower work-related stress, reduce attrition rates and stabilize levels of nursing manpower.