to be able to walk into someone's room

and have them think that I'm not a new grad,

and I really feel like I got my comfort

and my time management skills

from the residency program.

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- A new graduate nurse faces a lot of challenges.

For starters, they're transitioning

from the student nurse role

to the professional nurse role.

And that presents challenges

because they're going from a place

where they weren't necessarily held accountable

or weren't responsible for the patient's care

and now they are.

There's a lot for them to learn.

- I think the first challenge

is that it's not what they expected at all

in terms of what, school wise,

school has prepared them.

But in terms of like, I guess, like just the rhythm

of the hospital and what is expected of them,

they're not really sure.

- Often in school there's a thought of

once I complete school, I'll have time for my family,

more time for myself and then, in fact,

once they graduate, there are additional work commitments,

and time commitments related to starting your career.

So it's a challenging time.

- Basically time management and organizing themselves

is probably the biggest challenge

that new graduates face.

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- Today our new graduate nurses, then,

are hired with the expectations

that we will provide support.

We have on the job training for them.

We have one-to-one preceptors for them.

We have classes that are offered for them

that are taught by clinical experts,

within and without our system.

And we also have networking and support

which we know then, helps to lead them to success.

- It was just incredibly scary starting out on your own.

I mean when you're in school, you know that you have

a preceptor there the entire time.

But before we started the residency,

I just knew that I was gonna be on my own

and that, you know, I felt like this huge fear.

- Well Meagan's progression through the program,

when she first came in she was nervous.

At first I would round with her in the morning

when we do bedside reports

to make sure that I met the patients too.

But eventually, it got to the point

where she would round herself.

I'd round after her.

And then she'd just call me with needs,

and I'd just sort of be in the hall

and she eventually slowly but surely

needed me less and less.

- The residency helped me feel more comfortable

with the type of patients that I have on my floor.

The residency gave me a huge comfort level.

You know, you're sort of tied to the cord,

and then slowly but surely, you cut the cord.

But yeah, that was sort of her progression.

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- The biggest benefit is that they all start

as one group, one cohort.

And they network with each other to support each other.

And as the nurse residency coordinator,

I try to provide support and guidance to them when needed.

Their preceptors serve as very valuable resources.

But one of the biggest benefits that residents

themselves have said is the support

that they provide each other.

I liked how the residency program, it incorporated

the clinical aspects, but it also, you kinda had a chance

every week to go to a class and meet with other people

who were going through the same experiences

as you were going through.

- When we're in class, it's encouraged

that they talk about their experiences

on their unit, things that have happened that week,

and they kind of discuss with each other

what's going on.

So it gives them a valuable time

to be able to lean on each other

and provide that support network.

- You didn't feel like you were in it alone.

You really had a lot of support,

and I really liked that sense comradery

that the new grad program provided.

- Our ultimate goal is really to be able to have them

be comfortable in our environment,

as well as retain and want to stay in nursing.

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- So the residency is structured

so that in the beginning, the first three weeks actually,

there's more time spent in class.

The first week they complete nursing orientation

just like any other new nurse hire.

Week two and week three,

there's a class on Monday and a class on Friday

for those two weeks.

So two class days for week two and three,

and then the rest of the time is available

to be spent working on their unit with their preceptor.

And then from that point on,

it depends on the specialty,

but it's structured to spend the majority of your time

on the unit that you're hired onto

with your preceptor being trained.

So guided, unit-based orientation.

And there is, on average, about one class a week.

The residency is 10 weeks long for med surg and rehab,

and then other specialties, labor and delivery,

critical care, specialties such as that are 13 weeks.

So it's 10 to 13 weeks.

- It was like you were still in school in a way.

I mean, we met with classes and we had lectures.

Weaknesses that I felt that I had were covered

in the residency in those lectures.

So it was kind a nice.

- We went in depth about pulmonary, cardiology,

endocrine, things like that.

And it really helped, because when you're on the unit

and you're taking care of patients,

sometimes you don't get to learn

every single little detail

about the patho.

And it's really nice to review that information

on a week to week basis.

- We have not utilized one set curriculum

and stuck with that.

We actually get a lot of feedback from educators, directors,

and then from residents themselves.

And based on the feedback that we get,

we have updated curriculum, changed classes,

changed the structure of the program

to be able to allow for the best learning.

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- I had one of the most amazing preceptors.

I love her so much.

She, I mean would check in on me,

and really tried to style the learning for me

based on how I learn best.

Knowing that she was there, I mean I could text her,

call her outside of work,

was just a huge comfort for me.

- Usually I find out a week beforehand

that I'm gonna get my new graduates,

so I make them a binder

of all the important telephone numbers,

all the important policies that they're gonna need to read.

And then on the day that they're coming,

I get there a little early

so that I can greet them, find out who they are,

and then see, I guess, what challenges

they expect to face, what they're scared of

and then for the first two days,

I just let them follow me,

so that they can get the flow of things.

And then they start taking patients.

- When you're a new grad it's really good

to hear where you can improve.

And they're very honest with me,

but very supportive too.

It was never intimidating

when they would tell me