First Job Workplace Stressors for New Nurse Graduates in Their Own Words: A Secondary Analysis.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to have a better understanding of the experiences of new nurse graduates in their work environment and the perceived stressors during their transition into the role of registered nurse. BACKGROUND: The National Student Nurses' Association conducts an annual survey of all its members who are new graduates in the months following graduation. METHOD: The study used a qualitative design on a sample of 1,456 responses. Participants provided typed-in responses. Responses were sorted and coded using constant comparison method. Three independent judges aggregated interpretations through consensus. RESULTS: The themes that emerged were related to respondents' attempts to find balance and reflected the stress of the environment, expectations on self, and interactions with others that affected them. CONCLUSION: New graduates describe their transitions to the role of new nurse in words that suggest that their workplace environments are extremely stressful.

Ethical Dilemmas for Nursing Students and Faculty: In Their Own Voices.

AIM: The aim of this national study was to explore student and faculty personal experiences of ethical dilemmas in nursing education and clinical practice. BACKGROUND: Nurses encounter complex ethical dilemmas in practice that can lead to moral distress when they cannot "do the right thing" because of external constraints. METHOD: A mixed-methods study via online survey was conducted on senior nursing student members and faculty advisors of the National Student Nurses Association. Over 1,600 students and 600 faculty answered a "two-minute survey" with the question: "Please describe an ethical dilemma you have experienced." RESULTS: Descriptive statistics demonstrated a difference in student and faculty reports about the ethics content they received. The qualitative results from constant comparison of open-ended questions also supported differences in themes from student and faculty perspectives. CONCLUSION: This study supports that students and faculty voice their concerns with different ethical dilemmas in their nursing education experiences.

Nursing Student Loan Debt: A Secondary Analysis of the National Student Nurses' Association Annual Survey of New Graduates.

The purpose of this study is to describe nursing student loan debt and financial choices from a secondary analysis of the National Student Nurses Association Annual New Graduate Survey. The findings in the secondary analysis show loan debt incurred by nursing students comparable to loan debt reported recently for all new college graduates in general. However, comparing types of programs and types of schools yielded clear variations. More than one-third of new graduates who reported having loans to repay were unemployed; more than one-quarter of those who worked part-time and one-quarter of those who worked full-time to finance their education were unemployed; and almost one-third of students whose parents had paid for their education were unemployed. New graduates from for-profit schools were more likely to report they had accumulated high debt to pay for school than all new graduates combined. Nursing students enter the job market with substantial financial debt that may impact their future. Educators and policymakers need to address these growing concerns to sustain a healthy supply of nurses.

Nursing students make the world a better place through policy development.

Nursing students enter the profession wanting to make the world a better place. To achieve this, members of the National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA) practice policy development that contributes to professional formation. The authors use the example of how the rigorous process of writing and submitting resolutions to the NSNA House of Delegates influences policy development at the state and national levels. The American Red Cross Disaster Health and Sheltering certification course grew out of resolutions passed by NSNA delegates. Ultimately, the engagement of nursing students in the NSNA results in the preparation of leaders for shared governance and decision making as entry-level registered nurses.