First-year nurses continue to have the highest turnover rate among any other tenure level in the profession according to the 2023 nurse retention and staffing report, published by NSI Nursing Solutions Inc., a nurse staffing agency.
In an effort to reverse the trend, several health systems and hospitals have implemented nurse residency programs, aimed at creating a more steady, seamless transition for recent graduates into hospital settings.
Here are five nurse residency programs recently launched by health systems to boost retention:
- The University of Vermont Health Network-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y., launched a nurse residency program dubbed the "Designated Orientation Unit." The program will soon welcome its second cohort, The Sun Community News reported June 19.
- Neenah, Wis.-based ThedaCare's nurse residency program just began training for its first cohort at seven of its hospitals. Its nurse residency program is specifically tailored to include additional emergency department exposure and training for new nurses.
- Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai developed a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Transition to Practice Program which launched out of a need identified by the health system to offer support for nurses who have some experience, just not within a hospital setting. Its prioritization of diversity within the programming has allowed the system to attract new talent that it may not have otherwise, it noted.
- Aspen (Colo.) Valley Hospital's new nurse residency program is tailored to new graduates just beginning to work in nursing. The hospital's first cohort will begin practice and seminar training this August.
- Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health has also debuted a new year-long nurse residency program in partnership with Dignity Health Global Education. The programming, owned by DHGE, aims to increase retention at partner health systems by 20 percent.