Memorial Hospital’s RN Residency Program

Memorial Hospital’s RN Residency Program

Memorial Hospital’s RN Residency is a year-long program designed to support new graduate nurses as they transition from the academic setting into professional nursing practice.

Memorial Hospital’s RN Residency Program is accredited with distinction as a Practice Transition Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs. 

  • The current sites included in this accreditation with distinction designation are: 1. Memorial Hospital Belleville 2. Memorial Hospital Shiloh
  • The current practice settings included in this accreditation with distinction designation are: 1. Medical-Surgical 2. Step Down 3. Critical Care 4. Emergency Department 

What is Memorial Hospital’s RN Residency Program?

Developed in 2006, the RN Residency Program supports new graduate nurses, nurses who have been practicing for less than one year, and those new to the acute-care hospital setting. Over a 12-month period, nurses enrolled in this program gain further exposure to clinical experiences and skills they will encounter while working in a hospital setting. Specialized equipment and supplies are used for hands-on skill practice and high-fidelity simulation is used to mimic common high-risk scenarios. Additionally, nurses engage in peer reflection, mentorship, and shadowing experiences.

Goals of the RN Residency Program

The overall goal of The RN Residency Program curriculum is to improve patient care and outcomes through education and support of new graduate nurses, as well as:

  • Clinically, professionally, and personally support residents during the first year of professional practice
  • Increase retention rates
  • Improve job satisfaction
  • Foster the development of clinical judgement skills
  • Provide opportunities for peer support
  • Introduce residents to nursing and non-nursing colleagues from across the facility
  • Develop resource utilization
  • Reflect on clinical experiences

Curriculum

RN residents attend nine themed sessions using a variety of learning strategies such as lecture, case studies, and discussion. Each themed session also provides dedicated time for reflective practice with peers guided by a trained facilitator. In addition, residents attend one clinical skills day where they practice hands-on clinical skills with equipment and supplies encountered at the bedside. Finally, residents participate in a simulation day where they practice high-risk, complex, or common clinical scenarios using high- and mid-fidelity manikins. Skills and simulation days offer novice nurses the chance to practice clinical assessment and intervention skills in a controlled, low-risk setting.

Residency session themes include:

  • Professional development
  • Cardiac and critical care
  • Skin and nutrition
  • Procedural areas
  • Neurology and mental/behavioral health
  • Communication
  • Respiratory and infection prevention
  • End-of-life care

  • Current trends in nursing

     

RN Residency Program: additional information 

In addition to clinical knowledge, the RN Residency Program curriculum focuses on interpersonal skills and professional development. The RN Residency Program’s framework was created using the American Nurses Association’s Scope and Standards of Practice, The Code of Ethics for Nurses, Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory, and Memorial Hospital’s Professional Practice Model, Relationship-Based Care, which was patterned after Dr. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. Nurses are further exposed to the specialty specific Scope and Standards of practice and are encouraged to review them as they progress through the program.

The program curriculum is constantly improving and adapting to the current needs of clinical nurses. To accomplish this, RN Residency Program coordinators facilitate an advisory board consisting of nursing leadership, clinical nurse educators, preceptors, mentors, and former and current residents. Content experts from varying disciplines act as program faculty, providing current, evidence-based information to keep RN Residents up to date on best practices. Finally, skills and simulation experiences are led by clinical education specialists, all who possess at least a master’s degree in nursing and have training in adult learning.

If you have questions about the RN Residency Program, please contact us at [email protected]