Promoting Resilience in New Perioperative Nurses

New nursing graduates experience many challenges when transitioning from the academic environment to the practice setting. For many, the period of transition from student to employee is less than optimal, with many still experiencing reality shock, cognitive dissonance, and theory-practice gaps. The Stephens Model of Nursing Student Resilience addresses the unique issues faced by new graduate nurses to assist them in developing healthy coping strategies and to promote resilience. This model forms the basis of the RN Personal Resilience Enhancement Plan, a supplemental onboarding program created to assist new nurses in confidently facing challenges encountered during orientation and successfully moving forward as nursing professionals. This article describes the concept of resilience and explains how to link the RN Personal Resilience Enhancement Plan to the onboarding process in the perioperative setting.