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Graduate enrolled nurse readiness to practice : A scoping review
Akhter, Zainab Malik, Gulzar Jacob, Elisabeth McDonald, Ewan
Akhter, Zainab
Malik, Gulzar
Jacob, Elisabeth
McDonald, Ewan
Abstract
Background
In some countries, enrolled nurses (also known as Licensed Practical Nurses) have become essential members of the healthcare team, supporting registered nurses to address patient care needs. Registered nurses' readiness to practice is well documented in the literature, however, less is known about the preparedness of enrolled nurses for practice.
Objective
To explore and synthesize the available evidence on the graduate enrolled nurse practice readiness upon completion of their nursing qualification and at the time of entering the nursing workforce.
Design
A scoping review was conducted.
Data sources
Databases such as CINAHL Complete, Directory of access journal, Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google scholar were searched.
Review method
The review was conducted using The Joanna Briggs Institute Methodology for Scoping reviews.
Results
Seven studies were identified for inclusion and two themes were constructed as ‘ambiguous roles and expectations’ and ‘lack of educational preparation’. Findings from the selected studies showed a lack of clarity on the role of an enrolled nurse. In some healthcare settings, enrolled nurses were expected to undertake the same role as registered nurses. Furthermore, it was expected that enrolled nurses would be educationally prepared to work in specialty areas such as mental health, acute care and aged care upon completion of their studies. Though, none of these studies provided any conclusive evidence of whether enrolled nurses were ready to transition to practice.
Conclusion
In line with the limited evidence, there is a need to undertake further studies to understand the graduate enrolled nurse practice readiness from graduates' and industry stakeholders' perspectives. The findings will assist the education providers to strengthen their curriculum and health industry to support enrolled nurse transition to practice.
Keywords
division 2 nurse, enrolled nurse, education, practice, licensed practical nurse, registered practical nurse, readiness, scoping review, transition to practice
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Nurse Education Today
Book
Volume
131
Issue
Page Range
1-9
Article Number
Article 105973
ACU Department
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled