Ambulance care today is an essential part of emergency care and includes examination, care and treatment of patients, which imposes high demands on the competence of the specialist trained ambulance nurse. The ambulance nurse cares for all types of patients based on the patient's individual needs and sometimes complicated disease picture, and the person must daily decide on treatment and nursing in most complex patient meetings. In order to handle the different situations that characterize the work of the ambulance nurse, it is necessary for the person to have knowledge in several different areas, while the ambulance nurse uses his previous experiences in the meeting with different types of patients. This can cause difficulties and be particularly challenging if the person is new in his career as an ambulance nurse, thus lacking experience in his new career role.

The purpose was to highlight the ambulance nurse's experience of being new in it`s career

The method was a qualitative interview study with semi structured interviews. A total of six ambulance nurses were interviewed who worked less than 12 months in ambulance care in southern Sweden. Respondents were selected through a strategic selection. A qualitative manifest content analysis was used.

The result showed that the new ambulance nurse should be educated and knowledgeable in a variety of areas, while at the same time being able to radiate peace and security for the patient. Being able to change tempo and have high level of preparedness was also considered important in the new career role. They also described that work as an ambulance nurse was a very challenging work on many levels. In addition, respondents felt diverse emotions in their new career role. Feelings like vulnerability and insecurity were encountered in situations that the ambulance nurse had not included in the past, and it was found that if the person previously had worked in the field of ambulance care, this resulted in the safety of the new occupational role. Even the importance of preparation was being addressed, reading treatment guidelines and care programs prior to the patient meeting were therefore of great importance for experiencing safety in their new occupational role. The result also affected the difference of working with a team member whose skill level was different. Furthermore, teamwork with the colleague was considered to be of great importance, as it gave an opportunity to exchange experiences, and to conduct discussions, in order to solve the difficult situations that could arise in the work. The education of the ambulance nurse was widely regarded as rewarding and developed, but it was found that respondents experienced a further need for education and skills development in the new occupational role as ambulance nurse. They felt that it was important to receive feedback in order to develop in their new career role.

The study shows that ambulance nurses who are new in their career experience diverse feelings. Preparing for different situations and receiving feedback on how it has happened to the affected patient is important for their development. The study shows an increased need for further theoretical and practical training.