Tell us a little bit about your facility.
We are a 25 bed critical access hospital in rural northwest Iowa. We do work with area nursing schools with clinical groups and preceptors. One of the nice things about being able to work with nursing schools is being able to employ new graduates. 

How have you integrated the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program into your facility’s process for transitioning new graduate nurses to practice?  
We have been able to offer the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program to our grads and this has been beneficial for the new graduates as well as for our facility. We have been able to retain these graduates and put some of their residency projects into practice to improve patient outcomes. 

What has been the best part of initiating the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program at your organization?
It has been a good experience and has allowed us to strengthen the communication between managers and new grads and improve our overall on-boarding process. It has brought new grads into being "part of the team". 

How have you seen your nurse residents’ performance improve since beginning the program?
New grads are now eager to cross-train in other departments.

Anything else you’d like to mention?
Thank you for this opportunity!

Submitted by:
Jamie Crum, MSN, RN
Manager of Hospital Education

UPDATE: Presbyterian Healthcare Services received ANCC accreditation for its Transition to Practice and Perioperative programs. 

Tell us a little bit about your facility.
We are an integrated health system grown from a small tuberculosis sanatorium founded in 1908. We are now a system of eight hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group with more than 800 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, and a statewide health plan. We serve one in three New Mexicans with healthcare or coverage and have nearly 12,000 employees. The Residency Program began in 2015 with the Peri-Operative specialty program and has expanded to the Emergency Department, Critical Care, and the rapidly growing Transition to Practice new graduate program. This year began our journey for ANCC accreditation for our Transition and Peri-Operative Programs!

How have you integrated the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program into your facility’s process for transitioning new graduate nurses to practice?  
We have integrated the Iowa online nurse residency into our curriculum as foundational content for the professional development topics. We have built upon the content to ensure the success of our residents by including organizational-specific onboarding, subject matter experts as guest speakers, and reinforcement skills and simulation labs.

What has been the best part of initiating the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program at your organization?
The online platform is very easy to use and meets our needs for moving forward for accreditation. We have had great support from our Iowa partners, Nicole and Karla, they are always responsive and willing to help us create the best tool for our needs!

How have you seen your nurse residents’ performance improve since beginning the program?
We definitely see that our residency program better prepares our young nurses for real life on the floors, and helps to mitigate the heightened stress that is associated with this transition. The most notable data shows a much earlier progression to clinical practice leads and the role of preceptor and charge nurses!

Anything else you’d like to mention?
Thank you for your partnership, IONRP! We are planning to expand our residency program into Behavioral Health, Women’s, and Pediatrics next year! Our vision is that all new graduate nurses will get the opportunity to experience a residency program!

Submitted by:
Stacey Fort, BSN, RN
PDS Manager, Clinical Education Residency & Fellowship Programs

St. Luke's Medical Center, an affiliate of UnityPoint Health, delivers care to communities in the tristate area including Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota and is located in Sioux City, Iowa. There are nearly 10,000 admissions every year, 30,000 ER visits, and 90,000 outpatient visits. We provide a full range of services and programs.

We have used the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program for over three years. We did not have a program developed and had been discussing the need to pursue a nurse residency program. We were delighted to learn of this innovative, interactive, e-learning program. It was a great fit for the number of resources we had available as well as being innovative and cost-effective.

The overall most impressive outcome of using this program is the amount and quality of practice-change projects that have resulted from the work of the residents. We have implemented over 30 different projects, both evidence-based and quality. No matter if the projects are unit-based changes or house-wide, our residents put all the competencies at work and really show the new graduate that they can make a difference. Retention rates for graduates are at 92% for nurses starting greater than two years, and for the first cohort three years ago, 100% are still employed here.

The result of the evaluation tools provided is a great perk of this program. We actually receive data showing our nurses have improved in communication, confidence, patient-centered care, positive safety indices, and reduction in stress. A recent survey of the 36 graduates of over two years graduated from program revealed that all of them have taken on bedside leadership roles such as mentors, preceptors, or charge nurse. Over 50% have participated in practice change beyond the one required. 77% have become members of a unit or a hospital committee. It is really great to receive feedback from the evaluation tools the program uses so that we can showcase to senior leadership the return on investment.

Submitted by:
Lori Forneris, MS, RN
Clinical Practice Expert

Montgomery County Memorial Hospital (MCMH) is a critical access hospital located in Red Oak, Iowa. We are in the heartland of Southwest Iowa. This facility is growing by leaps and bounds with the expansion of services, which has resulted in space challenges within our walls. Some of the recent additions include; Tele-Psych for our Emergency Department patients, 3-D mammography and the creation of a Population Health program within the community wellness department. The education needs of our staff are ongoing and will continue for a long time to come. It is definitely exciting to see how all of the changes are coming together to make our facility an outstanding "one-of-a-kind" for the delivery of excellent healthcare for the communities we serve here in Southwest Iowa. We take great pride in our customer service, not only with our customers, but also with each other as employees. We are a team here at MCMH, and they are my second family. I am very proud and honored to be a part of MCMH.

We have been a part of the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program (IONRP) since its inception in 2014. We believe in this program 100%, and have all of our new graduate nurses participate in the program. They usually start the program at some point within the first year of hire. I have found it beneficial for a new nurse to become acquainted with the facility and their job duties before starting the application process for the residency program. On more than one occasion, I have heard a new nurse who didn’t really think she needed the program, state that she learned a lot through the year-long process. The online discussions also show our nurses that they are not alone in what they are feeling and experiencing.

I feel that enrolling these nurses in the IONRP helps them to be the best nurse that they can be. I have watched them become more confident, independent, and responsible nurses. It is a very worthwhile program, and I am very glad we are a part of this innovative type of transitional program for the graduate nurse.

Submitted by:
Ruth Aughe, RN
Clinical Education Manager
Montgomery County Memorial Hospital