The transition from nursing school to working in a hospital environment can be a difficult time for a new graduate. Due to the shortage of nurses, new graduate nurses with little or no experience are being hired. This is overwhelming for new nurses, especially when they don't receive adequate support or training from the hospital. The amount of stress, pressure and lack of training is leading to a high turnover rate of new graduate nurses. As patient acuity increases, new graduates who are filling these vacancies in hospitals must be competent nurses to provide adequate and safe care to patients. This article studied the competence of new graduates. “Nursing competency is not only a professional standard described by the American Nurses Association but also a requirement of the Joint Commission” (Theisen & Sandau, 2013). Competence is defined as the ability to do something successfully or efficiently; however, educators believe that competence extends beyond skills. There is a strong push for nurse residency programs or nursing orientation programs. Including these programs in more hospitals would increase the skills of new graduate nurses, as well as reduce new nurse turnover rates. “Due to the complexity of defining competencies, an emphasis on expectations of new graduate nurses must be introduced early in the nursing career” (Theisen & Sandau, 2013). After collecting numerous studies from databases and search engines, several important skills for new graduates were identified. The six skills identified include: communication, leadership, organizations, critical thinking, situation specific and stress management. Nurses identified communication as a weakness for... middle of paper... use of critical thinking skills and provide as much feedback as possible. If simulation is used, educators should use debriefing to improve the use of simulation. As patient acuity increases and nursing jobs increase, it is no surprise that new graduate nurses are being hired to fill these positions. Hiring a new graduate nurse means they may be less developed in communication, leadership, organization, critical thinking, handling specific situations and managing stress. However, these weaknesses could be addressed through nursing internship programs, simulation, debriefing, and the use of a mentor. Works CitedTheisen, J. L., & Sandau, K. E. (2013). Competence of new graduate nurses: a review of their weaknesses and strategies for success. Journal of Continuing Nursing Education, 44(9), 406-414. doi:10.3928/00220124-20130617-38