Facilitating Transition into Clinical Practice - Nurse Residency Programs: A Descriptive Qualitative Research Study

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011) predicted that a serious shortage of nurses in all health care settings will occur related to the number of nurses who are retiring within the next ten years. An estimated 1.2 million... [ view full abstract ]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2011) predicted that a serious shortage of nurses in all health care settings will occur related to the number of nurses who are retiring within the next ten years. An estimated 1.2 million nurses are required to meet the growing demand to replace vacancies of those experienced nurses who will be retiring. In response to this demand, nursing positions in clinical specialty areas, such as the emergency room and critical care, that were previously staffed by experienced nurses, were being offered to newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs). To help acclimate the graduate nurse to the staff nurse role, the University HealthSystem Consortium / American Association of Colleges of Nursing (UHC / AACN) developed a Nurse Residency Program (NRP) supporting new graduates as they transition from graduate nurse to staff nurse.
This descriptive quantitative study compares the six-month retention rate of 69 NLRNs enrolled in a modified version of the UHC / AACN NRP. Cohort One includes 26 NRLNs assigned to critical care units or assigned to a float pool rotating to various medical-surgical units. Cohort Two includes the remaining 43 NLRNs who completed a general orientation program and were assigned to medical-surgical units in a large medical center in New Jersey.
The six-month retention rate for Cohort One was 96.2% as compared to the six-month retention rate of Cohort Two was 97.7%. There was no significant difference in retention in NLRNs who completed the NRP as compared to those who completed general orientation. X² = (1, N= 69) = .13, p > .05. The retention rate of Cohort Two, the group who completed traditional orientation, was higher by 1.5%. Although the result is not statistically significant, this study contributed to the literature of new knowledge and strategies to retain new graduate nurses.