The new nurse should not be left to muddle through alone. Benner's work (cited in Messmer, Jones & Taylor, 2004) showed that nurses become more proficient and develop better cognitive skills and judgment when they are exposed to competent and proficient preceptors. A preceptorship program in which the new nurse is paired with an experienced professional nurse for a time could greatly ease the transition. The preceptor helps the new nurse to fit into the new role of professional and smoothes the way for a novice with minimal skills to grow to a level of competency. Preceptors who are educated in learning styles, communication, and conflict management make preceptor programs more effective (Block, Claffey, Korow, & McCaffrey, 2005).

Moreover, the new nurse needs a mentor for guidance in making career decisions, understanding the nursing profession, the hospital organization, and the politics (Butler & Hardin-Pierce, 2005; and Jannetti, 2003). A mentor gives advice and smoothes the way.

Roman (2003) explains that a mentor points out the novice's strengths and weaknesses; encourages the new nurse to establish goals for improvement; monitors progress; identifies obstacles to progress; and helps the new nurse to realize his or her full potential. A mentor can make a tremendous impact on the new nurse's professional development (Roman, 2003), and seasoned nurses model important lessons when they willingly teach new graduates (Steed, 2004).

Dean-Barr (2003) points out that it takes time to become oriented and to develop into a professional nurse. Hospital organizations that want to keep new nurses must provide graduates with guidance appropriate to their knowledge level because new nurses who do not get enough support have far more trouble coping with stress. If they get overstressed and start to think of themselves as incompetent, it doesn't bode well for retention (Boswell, Lowry, & Wilhoit, 2004). An editorial in the American Nurse points out that true team commitment and positive attitudes create workplaces where nurses want to stay (Agrantiflax, 2001).

In conclusion, the nursing shortage is the result of new nurses quitting. New graduate nurses are at high risk for leaving the profession. Those who are thrown on their own too soon in a kind of "trial by fire" are...

Preceptorship programs and mentoring help new nurses grow into expert nurses.
The hospital or organization that employs nurses must support learning programs with funding, expertise, and encouragement. It means nothing if nurses are assigned to preceptorships or given new grads to mentor but not given paid time to teach them. When hospitals show they value nurses by doing everything within their power to help new nurses grow into expert nurses, increased retention will be the result, and the current nursing shortage will be addressed.