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Nursing Interns Find A Safety Net

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By DAVID GARDNER

Special to the Tribune

Published: December 9, 2008

Updated:

TAMPA - For some new nurses, it was the fear.

They feared putting an intravenous catheter into a baby for the first time. They feared talking to their supervisors. They feared failure.

For a variety of reasons, nursing interns in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital weren't staying on once their training was finished.

But a program started earlier this year is trying to change that.

Jayne Solomon, a registered nurse and 22-year veteran of the NICU, who has a master's degree in education, noticed the problem and created the program to ease the transition for new nurses into the unit.

"The point of the group is to see an issue early and figure out what we can do about it right then," Solomon said.

She and Felice Richardson, a supervisor for the nurses, meet with the interns for about an hour on Tuesdays. They discuss issues they are facing and take time to relax.

The most common problems are not with clinical issues, Solomon said, but the feelings of being overwhelmed by the pace and amount of work.

In the unit, where fragile babies fight for their lives, there is rarely time for a detailed explanation of why something should be done - just that it must.

"The majority of problems that we hear them bringing in are emotional problems," Solomon said.

Each meeting begins with Solomon and the interns discussing the best and worst events of the week. In the early weeks, there are many more responses in the latter category.

But, unlike before, when young nurses would feel isolated, the group provides a confidential outlet for those concerns.

"We want them to know that they all have the same fears and insecurities," Solomon said.

The group helps the interns not only to grow closer to each other but also to the veteran nurses.

"A lot of it the challenges was about being received into the unit and being accepted," Solomon said.

That's why Richardson decided to lead the group along with Solomon.

"I think the group facilitates communication," Richardson said.

The communication works both ways, she said. It gives the interns an opportunity to get to know her on a more personal level, and it helps to keep her more accountable to the philosophies she teaches.

"It's really been, for me, a great experience," Richardson said.

Although Solomon, who is working toward her advanced registered nurse practitioner degree at the University of Florida, mentioned publishing the group's findings, Richardson wants to give it more time.

"We have terrible retention, and I'm not sure of all the particular reasons," Richardson said, "but this group is helping."

And, much like the communication, the benefits of the group are helping the interns and others.

"It's a joyful hour for me," Richardson said. "For the interns to know we've been there, that we've all left work crying or wishing that we could have done something better ... it's a very validating experience."

The results of the initial group were validating. Although the hospital previously retained about three of every 10 interns, eight of the 10 nurses who participated in the program are still with the unit.

Stephanie Thompson, an intern with the initial group in February, remembers the group's meetings as a time to relieve stress and relax with peers.

A second group of interns is undergoing training - which lasts about eight to 10 weeks - and working with Solomon and Thompson.

"I just tell them, 'Things get easier every day, and you will get used to your routine in the unit,'" Thompson said.

Excited by the results of the first group, Solomon hopes to retain all nine interns in the current group.

Through teaching stress management and communication, Solomon and Richardson hope to transmit a greater message.

The two hope that the group encourages excellent nursing. They want the interns to have compassion for the patients and their families and to work together after their training is finished.

"We encourage them to love nursing," Solomon said. "I think it's important that they understand that nursing is a ministry of healing and of the heart."

That transition from fear to focus is still largely unsuccessful, but for some new nurses in the unit, failure is no longer the only alternative.

The writer is a student at the University of Florida.

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