Group Debriefing: An Approach to Psychosocial Support for New Graduate Registered Nurses and Trainee Enrolled Nurses

Abstract

The transition from student to an accountable health professional is a difficult time for the novice nurse and can result in significant anxiety, stress and poor socialisation into the nursing profession. A strategy applied at a major tertiary teaching hospital to address transitional issues for novice nurses is that of group debriefing sessions. This qualitative study used focus groups to explore the effectiveness of these debriefing sessions for new graduate nurses and trainee enrolled nurses. The results demonstrated that the sessions provided nurses with a supportive environment, access to peer support and a sense of belonging. This provided an opportunity to develop confidence in their nursing competence and improvement in interpersonal communication skills. Debriefing sessions are an effective psychosocial support mechanism that can ameliorate the 'reality shock' experienced by nurses in their first year of practice. Group debriefing is an important component in the transitional support process and should be used to complement other strategies to enhance the psychosocial experiences of novice nurses.