Characteristics of the Industry ready graduate

Industry readiness is described in literature as graduates who are able to coordinate the delivery of quality care and meet the competency standards for Registered Nurses (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council [ANMC], 2006). These graduates are also required to fluently manage information, meet stakeholder expectations, deal with competition for resource allocation, participate in complex health care teams and consider consumer outcomes (Conway & McMillan, 2005). This concept is often talked about in Nursing Education, but as educators do we know what the end product of our undergraduate programs look like? How can we vouch for the fact that the graduates we produce are what are expected by the profession particularly by Staff Development Nurses who are charged with the responsibility of helping graduates transit to becoming functioning registered nurses? The purpose of this research was to explore the unique perspectives of Staff Development Nurses (SDNs) on the industry readiness of graduate Registered Nurses employed in Western Australia. This qualitative study used an exploratory design. SDNs were recruited by using network sampling. Data was collected using open ended interviews. This paper will address the research, education and clinical practice themes of the conference by presenting a depiction of the characteristics of the “industry ready graduate” from the perspective of SDNs employed in both the private and public sector in Perth, WA