Strategies to support the new nurse in practice

The literature supports the importance of the first job in an individual's chosen profession (Andrews, 1987; Benner & Benner, 1979; Huey, 1988). Clearly, first job interventions designed to socialize the new graduate nurse into the profession also benefit the employer organization. Since the employer organization spends money, time, and energy on orientation but can expect tenure to be short (Fisher & Connelly, 1989), the use of strategies that increase retention would be desirable both for the employer and for the profession.