Student nurse to the real job as a real nurse is a whole different kettle of fish! Book review of “How to thrive as a newly qualified nurse”- (Carol Forde-Johnson) by Sharon Sanford (Newly Qualified Nurse)

As a Newly Qualified Nurse (NQN) it’s both exciting and scary to transition into your first role. I know this because it’s how I feel, and my peers feel the same.  Student placements are fine and go some way to preparing you for life as a NQN and by the end of the third year I knew I could fit in with a new team, learn new skills and achieve my objectives but that confidence comes in part from knowing you are looked after by the University. Starting a real job as a real nurse is a whole different kettle of fish! A million questions run riot in my head, everything from what will the team expect of me? What tools will I use to keep my patients safe? How will I know if my documentation is good enough? What if something goes wrong…the list is endless. It would appear that the answers to these questions and many others can be found in this book.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a competition to win a book ‘How to thrive as a newly qualified nurse by Carol Forde-Johnston’. http://www.lanternpublishing.com/titles/413-9781908625519-how-to-thrive-as-a-newly-qualified-nurse I was lucky enough and well chuffed to win a copy as I never win anything. Anyway this book reads like you’ve got the loveliest mentor you’ve ever had holding your hand through the transition from student nurse to qualified nurse. Just reading it made me feel calmer and better prepared about my imminent start.  In my opinion Carol Forde-Johnson’s book is the best transition book I’ve read. The book covers everything from interviewing for your new post to thinking about career progression. The interview section is really useful, it gives examples of interview questions you might be asked but also asks you to think through the answers you might give which, in my opinion helps you to decide if this really is the right role for you, useful for anyone unsure where they might like to work, after all there are thousands of Band 5 roles out there.  A bit of forethought and advance preparation might help you find the right role first time.

The chapters are all equally useful but the stand out chapter is structuring your learning in the first three months. There is no standardised preceptorship package and the onus on learning is down to me, as yours will be with you. I see taking ownership of my learning as removing some of the burden from my team.  Each chapter has a “what to do next” section, these are very useful and nursing gold akin to coming on shift to find that it is fully staffed! I’ll be able to apply these and make SMART goals towards my own personal development plan.

Carol Forde-Johnston does attempt to cover lots of issues about nursing in a variety of settings, but one teeny tiny flaw with the book is that it is written predominantly with a ward focus as is the case with the majority of books and articles. Maybe the lack of primary care resources stem from the days when a newly qualified had to go onto a ward as a first role, or maybe it’s just that primary care nurses haven’t gotten round to writing books on transition yet?  There is a gap, especially as there is a real drive to treat people away from the acute sector and keep people well at home for as long as possible. Added to which, a NQN can now go into a variety of roles in General Practice and Community Nursing, a book for us and the challenges specific to issues such as lone working would be a godsend.

Having said that, and despite the fact I am going off to be a community nurse I still found this book to be invaluable. So much so that I’m going to keep it (normally I pass books on to benefit others) but I know I will be referring back to this one. My advice to you is if you know a final year student nurse or a NQN tell them to have a look at this book.