Since novice nurses need these skills immediately upon their entry to practice, addressing these challenges in the residency or orientation period is necessary. Orientation programs have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing novice nurse turnover and increases in satisfaction and commitment to the workplace (Parker, Giles, Lantry, & MacMillan, 2014). However, not all orientation programs are built equally. Baumann, Hunsberger, Crea-Arsenio, & Akhtar-Danesh (2018) found that novice nurses who participated in orientation programs that incorporated key dimensions of care delivery (commitment, decision-making, communication, care management, and system integration) rated themselves higher in the areas of communication with interdisciplinary team members, intradisciplinary team members, patients, and families. These findings support the need for focus on development of communication skills during the transition period. However, developing these skills requires deliberate practice, as well as timely feedback from colleagues, in order to reach a level of competency. Providing these opportunities in an environment in which learners feel safe without risk of patient harm is an important element of creating optimal learning situations.
The authors will discuss an innovative teaching and learning strategy placed within an orientation period that allows novice nurses to deliberately practice these communication skills and gain valuable feedback from peers. These activities can positively affect the novice nurses’ ability to perform their work effectively and create and maintain positive working relationships. By creating activities that foster novice nurses’ ability to communicate positively with coworkers, healthy workplace environments of trust and respect can be created to the benefit of nurses, patients, and workplaces.