Transition Shock in Nursing (Article Critique Sample)

Nursing Students’ Preparedness for Practice: A Review of Literature
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In, Preparing Nurses for Practice: A Phenomenological Study of the New Graduate In Australia, Kelly and Ahern investigate the expectations among nursing students before employment as well as the real-world experience of employed registered nurses in their first six months of employment. The study seeks to find the relationship between the expectations before leaving college and real-world experiences among registered nurses during the early days of employment and their increasing tendency to change occupations (Kelly & Ahen, 2008). The findings that the authors put forward are a crucial starting point for concerned bodies to take as they seek to address the issue of retention and support of registered nurses within the nursing field.
On the other hand, Harwood, in Transition Shock – Hitting the Ground Running, addresses the challenges newly registered nurses encounter during the early months of their career given the pressure to shift from a protected “thinking oriented” school mindset to a “practice oriented” real-world mindset. Harwood emphasizes the importance of the traditional educational approach where nursing students would during their studies gain real world experience through placements in hospitals (Harwood, 2011). Although this knowledge would be gained informally, it proved to have positive implications on registered nurses’ retention within the nursing field. Harwood also criticizes the current nursing education as it creates a disparity between nursing students’ workplace expectations and how well they are prepared for it.
Both articles address an important aspect of the nursing career; being thoroughly prepared for real-world nursing experience. Both articles find that a great divide exists between the expectations of nursing students just before they get employed and the actual/real-life experiences during early months of employment. The articles note that newly graduated nurses often get frustrated on beginning their careers and this affects their attitude towards the career. They also cite deficits in the current nursing curricula in regards to effective preparation of nurses for practice. Both articles cite that nursing culture has a great implication on the success or failure of newly registered nurses’ career. Both articles note that this be changed through socialization of new graduate nurses.
The articles take differing approaches in addressing the issue of unpreparedness among nurses for challenges encountered during employment. Harwood’s study is based on a review of published literature. Harwood notes that it is critical for nursing students to “hit the ground running” in which she encourages professional socialization, attitude change among nursing students, emphasizes on one’s ability to successfully assimilate into the workforce employment, in addition to Graduate Nurse programs. In other words, Harwood focuses on attitude cha...