From staff nurse to head nurse: a trying transition

The new head nurse is often unprepared for the role transition required by this new position. In this retrospective analysis of their first six months as head nurses, the authors, with a sense of humor, define a transition process consisting of three maturational stages. If nursing administrators and new head nurses anticipate and recognize these stages and their effects on nursing staff and care delivery, some of the resulting problems may be alleviated.