Assessment of clinical judgment in nursing orientation: time well invested.

There is a correlation between patient safety and nursing orientation. The authors discuss a mixed-method study that supports the efficacy of using a competency-based process to assess knowledge and judgment skills of registered nurses in a community hospital. This assessment is the backbone of the competency-based orientation.

Breaking into orthopaedic nursing: preceptorship for novice nurses.

Recalling feelings of reality shock and insecurity helps the staff nurse to truly understand the feelings that a nursing student experiences. Without a student preceptorship the new graduate may be unaware of all of the staff nurse responsibilities and have a problematic role transition to the work environment. The new graduate's adjustment to a staff nurse role is challenging, but if it is overwhelming the new nurse may eventually leave the profession (Coudret et al.