Surviving the Shift: New Nurses Find Strength in Shared Experiences

Egan School young alumni and nursing faculty members shared experiences and reflections at the first Campus Connect event of the academic year.

When Kathryn (Katie) Magennis ’22, BSN, RN, PCCN, took her first job out of college, the Fairfield University nursing graduate did not expect to form close bonds with her patients. Despite working at a comprehensive cancer care institution, she thought that her position in the fast-paced environment of the emergency room might shield her from the devastating emotional impact of death. “It happened anyway,” she said.

Magennis recently shared her story on patient loss during a panel discussion with 16 contributors to a new textbook, An Empowering Leadership Guide for Emerging Nurses: Surviving the Shift. Edited by Linda Roney, EdD, RN-BC, CPEN, CNE, FAAN, professor of nursing at the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, and published earlier this year by Cognella Academic Publishing, the book explores a variety of themes related to early nursing experiences.

The panel discussion, hosted at the Fairfield University Store in downtown Fairfield, Conn., mirrored the unique format of the book: each novice nurse shared experiences and challenges related to a specific theme, after which an experienced nurse leader reflected upon the account.

Eileen O’Shea, DNP, APRN, PCNS-BC, CHPPN, professor of nursing and director of the Kanarek Center for Palliative Care Nursing Education, responded to Magennis’s narrative. In a moving account of her own from years past, Dr. O’Shea described trying to deal with grief and understand professional boundaries after the death of a preschooler whose illness had no treatment or cure.

“I had to lean on my peers,” she said. No one talked about counseling; no one talked about debriefing or about processing what we witnessed.”

When Dr. O’Shea read Katie’s narrative, she realized that very little has changed in the workplace. “We still are not taking care of nurses after horrific loss,” she said.

For most of the book’s contributors, the panel discussion marked their first meeting. They had read each other’s stories and reflections but had otherwise not engaged in one-on-one conversation. Nevertheless, they somehow came to know each other through their shared experiences, as Dr. O’Shea made clear: “Katie is going to be a life-long friend now!”

In addition to first deaths, topics of discussion included patient advocacy, medication errors, ethics in caring, compassion in action, and self-care. But perhaps most importantly, mentorship and support emerged as the overarching themes of “An Evening with Nurses: Stories, Inspiration, and Leadership.”

The emergence of such themes is not altogether surprising, especially given that Dr. Roney has published research on compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction in nurses. To be sure, she is committed to preparing the next generation of nurses and ensuring that nurse leaders understand how to support their nurses.

“We can’t get through this without each other,” she emphasized to the nurses and future nurses in attendance.

And to a large degree, the novice nurses on the panel—all Fairfield alumnae—have not had to face their workplace challenges alone, for the robust support system at the Egan School persists beyond graduation.

Case in point: After Magennis completed her one-year post-graduation survey, a concerned Dr. Roney reached out by phone. “I guess I was a little too honest in my survey,” Magennis said with a sheepish smile.

Though the panel discussion was not necessarily held in support of the new textbook, whose contributors include 18 Fairfield affiliates, the panelists were clearly proud of the publication and their involvement in the project. For Roney and others, it is the book they wish they had at the start of their nursing careers.

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