Nce of working alongside a Registered Nurse was also a powerful

Nce of working alongside a Registered Nurse was also a powerful experience of legitimation: “A good example today was (NVP-AUY922 site procedure). I did (procedure) so I got to sort of walk through that with my RN that I was working with. She was really, really open to sharing what she knew about it. (This opportunity was) definitely a new skill.” Where problems occurred in seeking new clinical experiences for Post LPN to BN students was the variance in their previous experience. It was during these discussions that the interactive nature of our focus groups was most apparent. Participants were interested in one another’s perspective, but they did not agree on what actually constituted a “new” experience. Students who worked on acute care hospital units did not view some aspects of their university practicum as “new.” On the other hand, those who worked in long term care found the practicum “very challenging.” Problems also occurred when institutional policies for undergraduate nursing students did not take into account that Licensed Practical Nurses could also be members of this student group. Participants mentioned instances where “my buddy nurse was an LPN with less experience than me” and “I cannot actually do some of the skills that I’ve been trained to do as an LPN in this practicum so it’s kind of holding me back.”5. DiscussionThe aforementioned two themes, developed from focus group discussions with Licensed Practical Nurses attending university to become Registered Nurses, begin to illustrate the experience of legitimation among this group of learners.6 Listening attentively as students described their experiences revealed useful ways to acknowledge their existing identity as nurses, to understand how important instructors’ questions were to them and to conceptualize the notion of “new” experiences through their eyes. Consistent with MacLellan et al.’s [56] research with dietetic students and Klossner’s [5] research with student athletic trainers, our project also revealed that professional socialization begins when instructors and patients accept students in their new professional role. This acceptance and acknowledgement by others generates confidence and a willingness to risk behaviours expected of those in the new role. Similarly, our project echoes Spoelstra and Robbins [28] research with Registered Nurses transitioning to an advanced practice role. Like our participants, the practising nurses in Spoelstra et al.’s study AG-490 structure identified that implementing direct patient care was an essential component in their successful role transition. However, the experiences of legitimation that Post LPN to BN students face are unique. Traditionally, university programs did not offer bridging programs to vocationally educated nurses. In turn, questions about the legitimacy of their new program may be raised. Scales measuring values new students acquire as part of their socialization into the role of nurse, such as Weis and Schank’s [57] Nursing Professional Values Scale-Revised NPVS-R or Shinyashiki et al.’s [58] professional socialization questionnaire, are not fitting for this group of nursing students. Licensed Practical Nurses begin their program already well socialized into the identity of “nurse.” Participants in the present study felt insulted by the notion of “becoming” a nurse. Given the similarities between the LPN and RN role in their workplaces, they did not always feel that they were doing anything “different” in their practicum. Affirmation fr.Nce of working alongside a Registered Nurse was also a powerful experience of legitimation: “A good example today was (procedure). I did (procedure) so I got to sort of walk through that with my RN that I was working with. She was really, really open to sharing what she knew about it. (This opportunity was) definitely a new skill.” Where problems occurred in seeking new clinical experiences for Post LPN to BN students was the variance in their previous experience. It was during these discussions that the interactive nature of our focus groups was most apparent. Participants were interested in one another’s perspective, but they did not agree on what actually constituted a “new” experience. Students who worked on acute care hospital units did not view some aspects of their university practicum as “new.” On the other hand, those who worked in long term care found the practicum “very challenging.” Problems also occurred when institutional policies for undergraduate nursing students did not take into account that Licensed Practical Nurses could also be members of this student group. Participants mentioned instances where “my buddy nurse was an LPN with less experience than me” and “I cannot actually do some of the skills that I’ve been trained to do as an LPN in this practicum so it’s kind of holding me back.”5. DiscussionThe aforementioned two themes, developed from focus group discussions with Licensed Practical Nurses attending university to become Registered Nurses, begin to illustrate the experience of legitimation among this group of learners.6 Listening attentively as students described their experiences revealed useful ways to acknowledge their existing identity as nurses, to understand how important instructors’ questions were to them and to conceptualize the notion of “new” experiences through their eyes. Consistent with MacLellan et al.’s [56] research with dietetic students and Klossner’s [5] research with student athletic trainers, our project also revealed that professional socialization begins when instructors and patients accept students in their new professional role. This acceptance and acknowledgement by others generates confidence and a willingness to risk behaviours expected of those in the new role. Similarly, our project echoes Spoelstra and Robbins [28] research with Registered Nurses transitioning to an advanced practice role. Like our participants, the practising nurses in Spoelstra et al.’s study identified that implementing direct patient care was an essential component in their successful role transition. However, the experiences of legitimation that Post LPN to BN students face are unique. Traditionally, university programs did not offer bridging programs to vocationally educated nurses. In turn, questions about the legitimacy of their new program may be raised. Scales measuring values new students acquire as part of their socialization into the role of nurse, such as Weis and Schank’s [57] Nursing Professional Values Scale-Revised NPVS-R or Shinyashiki et al.’s [58] professional socialization questionnaire, are not fitting for this group of nursing students. Licensed Practical Nurses begin their program already well socialized into the identity of “nurse.” Participants in the present study felt insulted by the notion of “becoming” a nurse. Given the similarities between the LPN and RN role in their workplaces, they did not always feel that they were doing anything “different” in their practicum. Affirmation fr.