"WILL SOMEONE WALK WITH ME?"

Will someone walk with me? is an exploration of graduate nurses perceptions of preceptorship during the stressful transition from student to registered nurse. Using the qualitative case study research method, data has been collected from fourteen participants using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Thematic analysis of the data has resulted in two categories. The first category relates to functional factors in the way the preceptor role is applied. This explores the role of the Clinical Nurse Educator, organisation within the unit and the teaching of clinical skills. The second category relates to psychosocial considerations and includes the graduates sense of being scared and the preceptors advocacy, socialization and team support, and the preceptor s own experience as a registered nurse. Recommendations for practice support structuring the application of preceptorship to ensure that all of these aspects are woven throughout the graduate nurse s transition. This results in ''Korowai Aroha'', a cloak of covering for a supported transition that facilitates the graduate nurses development within practice.