At my daughter’s graduation for her master’s degree in occupational therapy last month, I sat by a nurse. Not just any nurse, but Lisa Pruner, a manager responsible for onboarding new nursing graduates at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta.
Was it a coincidence that I was writing an article about new grads entering the work force this month? I don’t think so.
Pruner, RN, CNS, and fellow nurse Donna Johnson, BSN, RN, assistant nurse manager for WellStar’s Pipeline Development Program, oversee a new way to train and nurture new nurses. The program has already shown success and is part of a hospital research study to shed light on how well recent graduates make the transition to working nurses.
WellStar encourages sophomore and junior nursing students to become part of its intern and extern programs. Like many hospitals, WellStar enters new grads into a graduate nurse residency program, where they take classes and work with preceptors for about 12 weeks for acute care and telemetry nurses, and 20 weeks for critical care and other specialties.
At Kennestone Hospital, however, they also become part of the Pipeline Development Program.
“We know that the human factor makes a difference in helping new nurses make it through the stress and frustration of their first year of practice,” Pruner said. “Donna and I serve as their managers during the onboarding process, regardless of the unit in which they are placed.”
Pruner and Johnson get to know each new nurse well. They go on rounds with them weekly to view progress and challenges, talk to their preceptors and create development reports.
“In this way, we’re able to address any issues early on,” Johnson said. “We had one new nurse whose performance was fine, but not stellar in telemetry. We identified that she has more of a personality for the emergency room and were able to switch her to that department, where she has performed wonderfully. She’s still sending us notes to say that she’s found why she went into nursing.”
The idea for the Pipeline Development Program began with senior leadership’s predictive staffing, Pruner said. Unit managers keep an open dialogue with their staffs to find out who might be going back to school or transferring to another unit. Predicting future needs helps managers anticipate how many new nurses to hire.
“We all need the fresh ideas and talents of new nurses, with our nursing population aging,” said LeeAnna Eaton Spiva, Ph.D., RN, director of nursing research and professional practice.
“We were looking for ways to increase new nurses’ satisfaction and improve long-term retention, but the program has morphed into so much more,” Pruner said.
Preceptors are receiving more support and training through a revamped curriculum. The progression of new nurses is measured by multiple factors in order to collect data, Spiva said. She is making a presentation of preliminary results to the Georgia Organization of Nurse Leaders this month.
The hospital has retained all but two of the 57 nurses who began the residency program in August 2010. A second cohort of 37 nurses started in April.
“That human connection is the cornerstone of helping new graduates develop and retain their passion for nursing,” Johnson said.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
