Abstract
As preceptors in clinical practice, our interest is to gain insight and knowledge of, newly graduated nurses’ experiences and their expectations as they start their new work. This is to contribute to establishing a good foundation for learning and learning conditions for the development of their professional identity in the introductory process.
The purpose of this Master Thesis is to explore:
How do newly qualified nurses experience learning conditions and learning in a specific introductory process in a hospital unit, and how can it contribute to the development of their professional identity?
Methods
The thesis has a hermeneutic approach and is based on the philosophical hermeneutics by Hans Georg Gadamer. Through qualitative semi structured interview, we have asked four newly qualified nurses about their experiences the first half year in the introductory process. Their interviews were analyzed using research questions in correlation with the topics: Conditions for learning, learning and development of professional identity with the purpose of interpreting the issue of the thesis and furthermore to interact with the empirical data.
The thesis applies Bjarne Wahlgren´s theory of conditions for learning.
The theoretical basis is the social learning theory by Etienne Wenger as well as David A. Kolb´s theory of individuel experiential learning. The theory by Kåre Heggen is used with the aim of including the aspects of professional identity theory.

Results
The newly graduates experienced a well organized introductory process in their first employment. Values such as commitment, trust, tolerance, mutual understanding, courage and security seem to be very important for learning. In addition, a close collaboration with their mentors on structure, goals and interdependence of time pressure for learning in practice.

Conclusion
A strong educational culture in a successful introductory process that integrates different forms of learning by structured teaching that provides a space for reflection, as well as an awareness of informal and unsystematic learning that occurs in social relationships. A mentor must have didactical competences and knowledge about experience based and knowledge about different internal cognitive learning with focus on individual experience-based learning and learning in communities of practice.