Impact of Nurse Residency Programs Essay 7
Impact of Nurse Residency Programs Essay 7
Entry into practice for newly graduated nurses can be a demanding and overwhelming experience. These stressful work conditions have contributed to decreased retention and satisfaction amongst new nurse hires. The aim of this literature review is to answer the following question: in newly hired BSN graduates, how would the use of a one-year nurse residency program compared to a traditional orientation affect turnover rates and re- ported satisfaction of the new nurse hires over a one-year period? Peer-reviewed research and systematic reviews between the years of 2012–2017 found on the Medline, Nursing & Allied health, and CINHAL were used. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed literature that addressed the impact of one-year NRPs on nurse retention or nurse satisfaction. Exclusion criteria were articles that addressed NRPs without discussing retention or sa- tisfaction. The JHEBP Appraisal Tools were used to extract and appraise evidence. Use of NRPs showed increased satisfaction and retention of new nurse graduates over a one-year period, leading to the conceptualization that this is a more effective method than traditional orientations for new nurse hires.
1. The Impact of Nurse Residency Programs on Satisfaction and Retention of New Nurse Hires
Transitioning from the student nurse role to the practicing nurse role has been identified as a stressful and challenging time for new nurses as they try to adjust to caring for multiple patients with chronic, complex health conditions (Van Camp and Chappy, 2017). The chal- lenging evolution can last as long as 12months and has been shown to be a contributing factor for a high turn-over rate amongst new nurses during their first year of hire (Olsen-Sitki et al., 2012). Research studying the impact of hospital work environments on retention of new nurse hires found that new nurses experience less anxiety and stress in environments that foster a safe learning environment and effective communication and support (Cochran, 2017).
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This is a relevant issue to nursing education because, as educators, it is vital to assess the needs of new graduates and develop effective transitional programs that will empower new nurses to practice with confidence in a safe and proficient manner, which may lead to in- creased satisfaction and retention during their first year of hire.
In 2010, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) offered recommendations on how to improve the nursing profession to better care for the
increasingly complex patient population. One of the recommendations was to implement nurse residency programs (Al-Dossary et al., 2013; Lin et al., 2014). This recommendation was identified in response to evidence reporting retention issues and decreased satisfaction of new nurse graduates due to stressful work environments, increased patient acuity, and lack of confidence in skill and critical judgment (Al-Dossary et al., 2013). Further studies also found that as many as 90% of hospital nurse leaders felt that new graduate nurses are ill-equipped to safely and proficiently practice as a registered nurse (Al-Dossary et al., 2013). Transitioning from the student role to the fully practicing nurse role can be stressful and overwhelming, leading to 35–60% of nurses leaving their first place of employment within one year (Van Camp and Chappy, 2017). These high turnover rates can have detrimental financial im- plications, costing approximately $88,000 per nurse due to lost revenue spent on training and having to replace the nurse (Van Camp and Chappy, 2017). Impact of Nurse Residency Programs Essay 7
A consistent finding amongst current evidence-based literature has found that nurse residency programs should be at least 10–15months in order to successfully prepare the new nurse for independent practice (Cochran, 2017). The aim of these programs is to provide continued support to new nurses during their first year of hire in order to foster
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2018.09.003 Received 12 January 2018; Received in revised form 1 August 2018; Accepted 5 September 2018
☆ This research was not supported by any grants or financial funding.
1 This author did not have any institutional affiliations at the time of this review. E-mail address: Caitlin.eckerson@gmail.com.