Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Committee Chair

Gayle Casterline

Abstract

New nurses do not possess the clinical skills necessary to thrive in a fast-paced, rapidly changing telemetry unit. The study explores the idea that nurses with less than two years’ experience may not have the self-confidence or experience to begin a career on a telemetry unit. A search of the literature was performed to identify the skills needed to be successful in a critical care telemetry unit. Established orientation programs, nurse internships, and nursing experience were the keywords researched. Patricia Benner’s Theory: From Novice to Expert Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice (1984) serves as the foundation for this investigation. The theory views nursing competency as a continuing learning experience based on individual experiences, exposures, and cumulative time in practice. The design is descriptive using qualitative, narrative analysis on focus group data. Two focus groups of five nurse participants were purposely selected for the study. One group represented novice nurses, and the other represented expert nurses. Novice nurses placed importance on completing the task list, keeping the patient safe, and receiving positive feedback from co-workers and management. Anticipation, symptomology, and intervention were demonstrated in the expert nurses in this study. Preceptorships, internships, and simulator science may assist in orienting novice nurses new to telemetry to critical thinking and time management skills, and for expert nurses learning a new cardiac skill-set for telemetry care and acting as resource personnel for less experienced colleagues.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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