8 Ways for Nurses to Adapt to New Work Environments

Change is always in the air when it comes to healthcare. The same can be said about healthcare professionals, especially nurses. After all, long, irregular hours in high-stakes situations are part and parcel of being a nurse. 

Apart from this, instead of dealing with one patient at a time, nurses care for multiple patients at a time. To bring their A-game to work every day, nurses need to navigate their way around a dynamic work environment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many hospitals globally found themselves short-staffed. New nursing graduates found themselves entering the workforce under a chaotic climate, which made it even harder to navigate through a stressful environment. 

We’ve compiled some helpful ways to help nurses adapt to a new work environment in this article. 

1. Higher Education and Mentorship

Higher education is a must if you want to keep yourself updated with the latest trends in medicine. Many institutes offer focused online courses and mentorship programs for healthcare professionals to move up the career ladder and explore more avenues in their field. 

As the pandemic still looms, online courses are a blessing for nurses who find it challenging to attend a university, manage duty schedules, and assign time for family. 

Also Read: Taking a Bow for My Real-Life Superheroes On International Nurses’ Day, 2021!

If you’ve already completed your bachelor’s, the next logical step would be to pursue a Master’s degree. 

An AGNP Master’s program or advanced course in your respective area of nursing will allow you to polish existing skills, learn new ones and apply them in other departments beyond caregiving. 

What’s more, healthcare institutions are on the lookout for seasoned nurses with higher educational qualifications to assume roles with multiple responsibilities. 

On the other hand, if mentorship is what you’re looking for, we suggest being on the lookout for a seasoned nurse willing to teach you whatever you want to learn. 

Higher education and mentorship can help you hone your skills and help you navigate through your new work environment. 

2. Communication is Key 

Make sure you keep an open line of communication with the rest of the hospital staff, including the hospital administration, your head nurse, as well as the rest of the nursing team. 

Having dependable communication skills is crucial to nurses as they must regularly convey information to doctors, patients, and their family members and within their network. 

This skill comes in handy when there have been organizational changes within the department. 

Pro tip: An effective way to reduce communication problems is by keeping everything concise and to the point through emails, texts, or face-to-face conversations.  

Also Read: Recruiting with Care: 7 Qualities to Look for When Hiring Your Nursing Staff

3. Make Use of E-Documents

Perhaps the most significant aid to nurses is the move towards electronic documentation of patient records. This presents essential information such as patient history all in one place. 

Gone are the days when you would have to fumble around with loose prescriptions, decipher someone’s handwriting, or deal with damaged or misfiled information. 

Make the most of these new and improved charting systems that will surely help you adapt to your new environment better. 

4. Identify and Tackle Stressors 

We all know that stress is an inevitable part of our lives; it is also natural to be a little intimidated by it. 

To better adapt to a new work environment, you’ll need to identify which situations or people are causing you stress and work on a strategy to help overcome this. 

Also Read: 5 Challenges that Nurses Encounter And Ways to Overcome Them

It is crucial to follow through with remedying your stressor. Check out the list of measures that have proven to be effective: 

• Meditation
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Taking time off
• Counseling

What’s important to note is that self-care looks different to each individual. While working out may help some people, others may benefit from a quiet night in. 

5. Establish Healthy Boundaries

This tip is helpful if you’re starting at a new hospital or clinic. While it’s true that setting personal and professional boundaries can be a little tricky, they are crucial for our wellbeing and safety at work. 

An excellent example of setting and communicating boundaries is leaving work at work. This means understanding that you don’t need to be available on your days off. Turn off notifications from work and recuperate as best you can. 

On the flip side, this also means leaving behind your personal matters at the doorstep—these will only disrupt your performance at work. 

6. Learn the Culture

The best way to adapt to your new work environment is by studying it. Notice what kind of social interactions occur between the members of your team— pay special attention to the use of dialogue, how they deal with a difficult case, and how they interact with patients and physicians. 

Also Read: 5 Worksite Wellness Ideas for Nurses

Picking up on these subtle social cues can go a long way in helping you keep your head above the water. 

While you’re finding your bearings, we recommend staying neutral. Needless to say, this process involves trial and error. 

7. Be a Team Player

A big part of adapting to a new workplace is getting to know your teammates. Nursing, just like any other profession, requires collaborative efforts. 

In your first few weeks at the job, make it a point to show your team that you’re approachable and ready to assist them. 

This can get them to warm up to you and, hopefully, one day, return the favor. Trust us; as a newbie, you’ll have a few moments of need. 

8. Ask Questions 

As the saying goes: ask, and you shall receive. Initially, you might be hesitant to ask questions, but remember that adapting to your new workplace will always require a learning curve.

Your colleagues understand that you may not have all the answers and expect you to ask them some questions.  

It is better to ask questions than to do something wrong— the margin for error in high-risk professions like nursing is slim. 

In Conclusion

Since change is inevitable, we must embrace it. It can be scary being the newest member to an already running mechanism— the healthy thing to do in this situation is to acknowledge the feelings of stress and anxiety. 

With the help of a dedicated mentor, keen insights into the social norms, and a good attitude, you can adapt to a new workplace. 

One thing to remember above all else is taking care of your mental and physical health so you can do your best to serve others.