Correlating novice nurses' perceptions of nursing orientation and first-year support with direct preceptor...

Can preceptors correlate novices' experiences of the transition into nursing with interventions for support? A medical specialty preceptor committee representing more than 300 nurses at a large academic medical center conducted educational sessions for 46 inpatient nurses who had successfully completed orientation, but were still in the first year of practice. The novice forum used literature themes to guide exploration of the novices' perceptions. In the two novice forum sessions, the new nurses were invited to reflect on their experiences using a Turning Point Query(©). The questions posed addressed the themes in the literature concerning the transition into professional practice. After noting and discussing the group responses, each preceptor committee representative held a discussion with two novices about their struggles and successes. The preceptors, after learning about novices' needs in this way, planned and directed forums for preceptor development of their peers. Concepts and teaching activities addressed the novices' identified concerns, which targeted greater need for feedback, affirmation, and debriefing, as well as reflective discussions on practice. This group thus correlated novices' perceptions with preceptor development activities.