In Pursuit of the Practice Ready Nurse: Insights From a National Survey

OBJECTIVE To understand how practice readiness for nursing is currently perceived, a survey was conducted among professional nurses spanning practice and academic settings. BACKGROUND The concept of practice readiness is ambiguous because of variations in interpretation and expectations between educators, employers, and new nurses. It is challenging to improve the preparation and onboarding of new nurses without this understanding. METHOD A cross-sectional survey was electronically completed by 437 nurses. Survey data were analyzed using thematic analysis. A subanalysis was performed to examine differences by demographics. RESULTS The data were categorized into 6 themes: critical thinking and analytical skills, professionalism and ethical practice, technical and clinical proficiency, compassion and patient-centered care, interpersonal skills and collaboration, and adaptability and continuous learning. These findings are a 1st step in understanding how nurses currently describe practice readiness.