Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization has identified a shortfall of nurses. There is a risk that newly graduated nurses will leave the profession only a few years after completing their education. Little is known regarding the newly graduated nurses' experiences of practical readiness and development of professional authority during their first year of working. OBJECTIVES: To explore newly graduated nurses' experiences related to their practical readiness and their development of professional authority. METHODS: Qualitative design. Data was collected from March to April in 2022. The data consist of eight individual interviews with nurses who had been working for almost one year. The data was analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Two themes were constructed: Ready or not, and being responsible with or without decision-making authority. The experience of preparedness was related to handling clinical judgement, clinical skills and nursing knowledge. The participants found their role in interdisciplinary cooperation challenging. CONCLUSION: The nurses who felt prepared exhibited competence that integrated their personal abilities with clinical judgment, allowing them to apply their skills and knowledge across diverse situations. The participants revealed a discrepancy between perceived responsibility and the level of professional authority that resulted in frustration and a sense of being professionally overshadowed.