Organizational and Practice Outcomes of a Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency Program.

A nurse residency for newly licensed registered nurses is best practice. A novel model for transitioning new nurses is a 1-year, postbaccalaureate residency that is rotation based with protected time for supervised clinical and didactic learning. After 10 years with this program, a summative evaluation found that retention rates for 1, 2, 3, and 5 years after program completion were 93%, 83%, 73%, and 82%, respectively, higher than similar programs in the literature.

Innovation in Clinical Course Delivery and Impact on Students' Clinical Decision-Making and Competence.

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in clinical decision-making and clinical competence between two different cohorts of graduating baccalaureate nursing students from a traditional prelicensure program in the United States. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare students who had substituted their traditional medical-surgical clinical experiences with simulation (Cohort 1, n = 35) with students who had supplementary simulation in addition to their traditional clinical experiences (Cohort 2, n = 36). The findings demonstrated that when simulation was used as a supplement to traditional clinical experiences, participants performed better patient assessments.

Answering Wicked Questions: Dealing With Opposing Truths as a Nursing Associate Professor.

Nursing associate professors frequently are confronted with increasing responsibilities and fewer resources. These challenges commonly contribute to declines in job satisfaction and may result in departing academe. This article addresses these challenges by providing answers to four common "wicked questions" experienced by nursing associate professors: (a) How do I decline a request from a supervisor to take on additional responsibilities while continuing to support the mission of the school and advance my own scholarly productivity? (b) How do I handle the workload of multiple doctoral students with a variety of content areas that are different from my own and maintain my own level of productivity? (c) How do I handle expectations for more service, and leadership for the school, university, and professional organizations, yet the teaching and research responsibilities have not changed or have increased? and (d) What are some additional tips to being a more productive nursing associate professor?

Effect of Sequence of Simulated and Clinical Practicum Learning Experiences on Clinical Competency of Nursing Students.

Two different sequences of blocks of simulated and clinical practicum learning experiences compared the clinical competency development of nursing students using a randomized crossover design. Competency was measured 3 times: after each block of simulated and clinical experiences and after a final simulated experience. No significant differences in competency scores between the 2 groups across the 3 time points were found.

Competence Acquisition Using Simulated Learning Experiences: A Concept Analysis.

Aim: To report the findings of an analysis of the concept of competence acquisition when determined using simulated learning experiences.

Background: Competence of nursing students prior to entry into practice has been stressed by the Institute of Medicine. Competence can be evaluated via simulation; however, evaluation practices vary among schools of nursing.

Are rural and urban newly licensed nurses different? A longitudinal study of a nurse residency programme.

Aim: This study aimed to compare rural and urban nurse residency programme participants' personal and job characteristics and perceptions of decision-making, job satisfaction, job stress, nursing performance and organisational commitment over time.

Background: Nurse residency programmes are an evolving strategy to foster transition to practice for new nurses. However, there are limited data available for programme outcomes particularly for rural nurses.

Predictors of new graduate nurses' organizational commitment during a nurse residency program.

Retaining newly graduated nurses is critical for organizations because of the significant cost of turnover. Since commitment to an organization is associated with decreased turnover intent, understanding factors that influence new graduates' organizational commitment is important. In a sample of nurse residency program participants, predictors of organizational commitment over time were explored.

Perceptions of professional practice and work environment of new graduates in a nurse residency program.

New nurses continue to face challenging work environments and high expectations for professional competence as they enter practice. Nurse residency programs are gaining prominence as a mechanism to ease new graduates' transition to practice. This study examined new graduates' perceptions of their professional practice competence and work environment throughout a yearlong nurse residency program.

Retaining the next generation of nurses: the Wisconsin nurse residency program provides a continuum of support.

Because of the high costs associated with new graduate nurse turnover, an academic-service partnership developed a nurse residency program that provides a comprehensive support system that spans 15 months. Now in its fourth year, involving more than 50 urban and rural hospitals of varying sizes and geographic locations, the program provides formalized preceptor training, monthly daylong educational sessions, and mentoring by clinical coaches. Key factors contributing to the success of this program are a dedicated, cohesive planning team of individuals who embrace a common agenda, stakeholder buy-in, appropriate allocation of resources, and clear articulation of measures of success, with associated data collection.

Clinical Focus Program: enhancing the transition of senior nursing students to independent practice.

The Clinical Focus Program was designed to prepare senior nursing students for the transition to practice in the hospital setting. Through a series of 1:1 precepted clinical experiences, the students developed a broad base of clinical competencies and self-confidence in their nursing skills. Hospitals experienced reduced costs related to orientation and recruitment of new graduate nurses.