The readiness of Saudi nursing interns for the professional role.

BACKGROUND: The nursing education program offers opportunities to prepare nursing students with the knowledge and skills required for their professional roles. The level of their readiness and confidence will affect their ability to provide effective and sufficient nursing care. The purpose of this study is to assess nursing interns readiness for professional roles.

MATERIALS AND METHOD: To accomplish the study's objectives, a cross-sectional, descriptive design was employed. All nursing interns who graduated from the KAU School of Nursing in the academic year 2018-2019 were recruited from different hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from March 2019 until May 2019. Participants completed the Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice Survey. Descriptive statistics were conducted to answer the research questions.

RESULTS: The results of this study demonstrated that the students felt ready and confident to assume their professional nursing roles. The students had some difficulties with managing multiple patients and certain skills, such as how to deal with dying patients and prioritize patient care needs.

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study showed the students felt entirely ready for the professional nursing role. The nursing college at King Abdul-Aziz University is making a great effort to prepare its students for their professional roles. We still need to develop skills and clinical competencies in preparation for effective professional roles. In addition, continuous assessment is considered important for patient safety, to increase nurses' work retention, and to enhance professional nurse confidence and the quality of care they must provide.