Finishing university can be uncertain time for any graduate, and graduating as a nurse is no different. Fortunately, for anyone who studied degree-level nursing, our healthcare staff are on hand to offer advice to graduate nurses, so you can be confident that you’re getting tips from the experts!
Top tips for graduate nurses
We recently reached out to our healthcare community via our social media platforms, asking: “What piece of advice would you give to a graduate nurse as they embark on their career journey?”
Here is what they had to say:
- “Smile, laugh, love every minute of it while you can. Learn, listen, listen some more, think and then do.” – Emma Thompson
- “Ask, document, listen.” – Adrian Rosus
- “All the ward staff are equally important and deserve your respect.” – Andrea House
- “Ask questions. No question is stupid.” – Louise Helyer-Jackson
- “Be a team player and never say it isn’t my job, in nursing the patient is everyone’s job.” – Gail Rhys-Jones
- “Ask questions. There’s a saying that the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.” – Gail Rhys-Jones
- “Brace yourselves, it’s going to be a tough ride!” – Bogdan Micu
Additional advice
A few other handy pointers for graduate nurses include:
- Carry a notebook around with you. This can be used to make notes about new things you learn, the names of those you’re working with, or checklists to ensure that you don’t forget anything important. You may also want to read about the importance of good documentation in nursing.
- Introduce yourself to as many people as possible so that you feel comfortable in your place of work. There will be people that you naturally work with and alongside, but it’s good to get acquainted with those you might just see in passing too.
- Make sure you get enough rest. Changing between early and late shifts can be difficult to get used to at first, so work out how best to get those all-important hours of sleep and you’ll soon fall into a great routine. Don’t forget to take your breaks too!
Thanks to the members of our community who shared this advice for graduate nurses with us – we really appreciate you getting involved! We always enjoy hearing from you and know that newly graduated nurses will really benefit from your words of wisdom.
If you’re looking for a nursing role, take a look at our latest vacancies. We’d love to welcome you into the Newcross community!
