An incomplete record of starting out as a nurse. 

When I think back on my first year as a nurse, I always say two things to myself: “I wish I had written more,” and “I wish someone had given me a more realistic how-to manual.” I try to remember patients from back then. What would I have shared, had I written about each one?

I was never not writing about something (sometimes what I wrote was published on this blog), but over time, as I moved away from bedside care and into administration, I wrote differently: policies and program plans, research protocols and systematic reviews. Although I rarely worked directly with patients anymore, their positive outcomes continued to motivate my every word.

I like to think my writing has grown with me. I’ve learned the power of the active voice; the structure required for the APA Writing Manual. 7th edition; and the deepening of understanding that comes from reading and reflection. But I will always wish for more writing—of any kind—from that first year. Even a scribble to jog my memory. This nursing birth of mine, like any birth, began my nursing life in a very specific way. I was challenged and tested, understood and got lost, and, tragically, I also failed some patients I will never forget. 

The things no textbook can tell you.

But even if I had written every story at the time, and learned from the process, I still would have wanted another, better guide. And so I often wonder if having a more complete record of those times would allow me to write such a guide for others now? Not knowing what I didn’t know was my most crucial flaw then. Where would I have learned the things that one can only understand by experiencing them? No textbook can teach you the intimate secrets of finding your way in those early days.

Was all I needed an experienced friend—someone who loved sharing tips and tricks and offered their own struggles to learn from as steps on a lighted path? In my ongoing AJN column, Transition to Practice, I try to share the how-tos I wished for when I began my first job, saw my first death, had my first code, delegated my first task. To answer the unasked questions of anxiety and unknowing, and to deliver the certainty of evidence in a friendly tone.

While I am now designing clinical settings, not working within them, I still care for the nurses who fill positions outlined in the budgets I draft. Who are they and what do they feel? Do they have easy transitions to practice? Are they supported and happy, or stymied by bullying and imprecision? How do they find their way, and do they know the value of their struggle?

An invitation to help serve as a guide for new nurses.

I am writing here to extend an invitation. Did you write early on? Do you remember your first days? What does your voice sound like—are you capable of serving as a guide? Are you close to the bedside, full of experience with new nurses but afraid you could never write well enough to be published?

If you’re interested in helping to guide the way for new nurses, have experiences to share that would be helpful to new nurses, and want to write as a team, I want to hear from you. Check out past articles in the Transition to Practice column and see if the format appeals to you. Ponder the new graduate nurse experience, how you might speak to it, the voice you would choose to take. See the proposed topics list below, and get in touch! Email me at: amandajandersonrn@gmail.com  

Possible topics.

  • Communicating as a professional on an interprofessional team.
  • Developing critical thinking and clinical judgment skills.
  • Self-care to avoid burnout.
  • Professional development—where should a newer nurse focus?
  • Succeeding at care coordination and care transitions.
  • Getting your first job.
  • Mastering technology and telehealth.
  • End-of-life care and communication with patients and families.

Amanda Anderson, MPA, MSN, RN, is an administrative nursing coordinator at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and a doctoral student at University at Buffalo School of Nursing. A 2020-2023 fellow in Clinical Scholars, a national leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Amanda is also a member of AJN’s editorial board and the coordinator of the Transition to Practice column.