<p> Nurse Residency programs have been developed to ease the transition for new graduates to the workplace, one in which they face fast-paced patient encounters such as emergency response situations. During this one year educational experience, nurse residents persistently cite caring for deteriorating patients as a clinical challenge. There is a paucity of research on the unique needs of nurse residents when encountering such challenges. Philosophically underpinning this Hermeneutic study were tenets of Heidegger and Gadamer within which nurse residents' lived experiences of caring for a deteriorating patient were explored. In-depth interviews with eight nurse residents were analyzed and interpreted using Diekelmann's process for narrative analysis. The <i>Journey from Uncertainty to Salient Being</i> described the ontological-existential meaning of participants' lived experiences of caring for a deteriorating patient during their residency year. Three distinct constitutive patterns were identified each with themes: <i>dwelling with uncertainty</i>, <i>building me up</i>, and <i>a new lifeline: salient being.</i> Dwelling with <i>uncertainty</i> was experienced during encounters with deteriorating patients with its deeply felt impact upon nurse residents as they transitioned from student to professional nurse. The pattern of <i>building me up</i> was influenced by the participants' expressed need for, and importance of, trusted relationships with preceptors, nurse colleagues, and/or mentors. Because of these relationships, and through reflection on their experiences, they were able to develop a sense of <i> salience.</i> To situate and explain the study's findings within existing nursing knowledge, these patterns were then compared and contrasted with nurse residency research findings, and theories and research in nursing and sociology such as transition, socialization, professional role development, and role formation. The findings from this study extend and support role adaptation and transition theories. Implications from the study's findings can be used to improve the transition to the professional role, for preceptor development, and for refining nurse residency curricula.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3663096 |
| Date | 14 June 2015 |
| Creators | Della Ratta, Carol |
| Publisher | Adelphi University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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