Newly registered nurses' experiences of delivering patient education in an acute care setting: an exploratory study

Nurses' education of patients is important for building the knowledge and skills necessary for self-management. Little is known of newly registered nurses' preparedness to deliver patient education, or of their experiences in clinical contexts where they may encounter barriers.

The aim of this study was to explore newly registered nurses' patient education role in an acute hospital setting.

A purposive sample of seven newly registered nurses from an NHS teaching hospital in England were interviewed to explore their understanding and experiences of educating patients. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to analyse responses.

Three superordinate themes were identified: the professional self; the ward environment; and the nurse-patient relationship. Tensions existed between the ideals newly registered nurses brought to registered practice and the practice-based realities of patient education, which was often delivered informally with limited patient involvement in collaborative goal setting. Few newly registered nurses recalled more than superficial preparation in university for the role and some were encouraged by senior colleagues to downplay the importance of patient education.

The patient-education aspirations of newly registered nurses need to be nurtured. Educational institutions have an important role to play as do experienced nurses, making explicit the education they routinely deliver and supporting newly registered nurses to build their own pedagogic expertise.