My Acculturation Experience as a New Graduate to the Culture of the Nursing Profession

The acculturation experience for new graduate nurses to the culture of the nursing profession is demanding and challenging. The new graduate nurses are expected to leave their structured nursing school environment and enter professional practice, which causes transition and reality shock for these nurses. As a result, new graduate nurses’ provision of substandard care and intention to leave the profession increases. Thus, Powers, Herron, & Pagel (2019) maintain that the successful acculturation of new graduate nurses depends on their ability to build confidence and acquire necessary clinical reasoning abilities as they are oriented in their new role. For instance, patient care in a critical care setting is fast-paced and complex, exerting considerable pressure on new graduates. In this context, structured orientation programs are crucial in successfully preparing new graduates transition into the profession. Trained preceptors should offer these programs and ensure new graduate nurses develop clinical reasoning skills to assist them in the acculturation experience to the culture of the nursing profession. Structure orientation programs prepare new graduate nurses for their new role through support and guidance from trained preceptors. 

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From my experience, transitioning from an undergraduate student to a nurse professional is a stressful experience.  As a new graduate nurse, I entered a challenging and new environment after starting my clinical practice.  Thus, I had to make significant adjustments from being a learner whose activities and processes were completed in a controlled environment under teachers’ supervision to practicing independently as a competent healthcare provider. The changes result from expectations and role modification that require the transferring of theoretical knowledge acquired in school to clinical practice (Opoku et al., 2020). Additionally, new graduates are expected to design and execute appropriate treatment programs for their patients. As a result, the transitioning period was stressful because it was characterized by role uncertainty and navigating conflicting values. Nonetheless, through the facility’s mentorship program, I transitioned effectively into the nursing profession. The mentorship program promoted my professional and personal development because of the supportive relationship and help from experienced nurses. 

The knowledgeable and experienced nurses guided my transition to the culture of the healthcare facility. They prepared me for my new roles by assigning tasks that enhanced my development of crucial clinical skills. For instance, at the start of the mentorship program, I was given simple tasks to help me cope with the nursing culture. After a couple of months, I became used to increased work demands and collaboration with colleagues through effective communication, thus enhancing my capacity to work in different environments to meet the patient’s needs. However, whenever I felt overwhelmed, I turned to my mentors to seek knowledge to minimize burnout, stress, and fatigue and improve my patients’ well-being. As a result, I could overcome the challenges and demands that characterize the transition process, and my likelihood of leaving the nursing profession declined considerably because of the help, support, and guidance from experienced nurses