How to Thrive as a Newly Qualified Nurse

About the author; Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations

1. Choosing and securing your first nursing post
     1.1 How to choose your first post
     1.2 Your application and personal statement
     1.3 Preparing for band 5 interviews

2. Structuring your learning during your first three months qualified
     2.1 What to expect when you start
     2.2 How to structure your learning in your first few months qualified

3. Understanding the key structures in nursing
     3.1 Past structures and influences on today's health care
     3.2 Key local and national structures
     3.3 Key types of nursing delivery systems
     3.4 The differences between nursing roles and bands

4. Understanding safe staffing and patient acuity and dependency tools
     4.1 Past methods used to determine safe staffing levels for nurses
     4.2 Today's NHS
     4.3 Important safe staffing guidance for nurses
     4.4 Workforce planning and acuity and dependency tools

5. Prioritising care and delegating to others
     5.1 Support in practice to develop your management and leadership skills
     5.2 How to prioritise your care and manage your time
     5.3 How to delegate to others

6. Understanding documentation, care planning and clinical risk assessment tools
     6.1 Past nursing documentation and record-keeping today
     6.2 The importance of documentation and record-keeping
     6.3 The difference between 'good' and 'poor' documentation
     6.4 Individualised care planning
     6.5 The importance of clinical risk assessment tools

7. Assessing mental capacity and supporting those declining care
     7.1 The case that led to changes in the law
     7.2 Supporting and informed choice
     7.3 The law and key policies
     7.4 Assessing mental capacity
     7.5 Making a decision on behalf of someone
     7.6 The importance of documentation and follow-up

8. Understanding escalation and incident reporting
     8.1 Patient deterioration and escalation
     8.2 Incident reporting
     8.3 De-escalating challenging situations
     8.4 How to deal with a patient's death and a deceased body

9. Structuring your future learning and support
     9.1 Proactively structure your learning and development
     9.2 What you should expect over the next year and onwards

10. Developing our practice and profession through future nursing research
     10.1 Evidence-based practice
     10.2 Research funding opportunities
     10.3 Publishing your work in future

Index

If you know a final year student nurse or a NQN tell them to have a look at this book.
‘…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-Johnston’s book is the best transition book I’ve read.’
Sharon Sanford, STaR Project

This book is an asset for all nurses entering the profession.
‘This book is full of essential tips and advice for nurses of all ages entering the profession. Not only is it a refreshing read, it is also easy to absorb the information due to the ‘anecdotal’ feel and user friendly layout. Thanks must go to the author for taking the time to write such an inspirational book.’
Amazon reviewer

Simply the title of the book is inviting – who doesn’t want to thrive in their career?
‘This book discusses the wide scope of learning in your initial time as a newly qualified nurse and how you can develop into a more confident and established professional; from securing your first nursing post to structured planning for your learning and development in the early stages of your career.
[It] is a great purchase for those wanting to hone their skills as an NQN, I found it to have answered many of the questions I was unsure of when qualifying. This book overall helps you to align your career aspiration, relevant skills and qualifications you might want to consider planning early on in your career.’
Diary of a Chief Nurse Junior Fellow blog, August 2019

Fantastic book!
‘Really really informative, made me think about things I would have never even thought of! I’m just starting my third year so this really helped me think logically about things and put other factors into perspective!’
Amazon reviewer