New Program Provides Customized Experience, Content for New Nurses
The second cohort of Texas Health Resources’ new Nurse Residency program – 217 nurses strong – met for orientation July 18. The program replaced the Versant Nurse Residency program previously used by Texas Health.
“Having our own program allows us to better customize experiences and content for Texas Health nurses,” said Carla Dawson, chief people officer. “We’re able to help nurses connect the dots for our high reliability organization journey, key performance indicators (KPIs), Reliable Care Blueprinting™ and other initiatives, including our focus on achieving top quartile quality outcomes.”
Kimberly Hickman, M.S.N., R.N., ONC, Clinical Learning, is the program manager for the residency.
“I am Texas Health’s biggest cheerleader,” said Hickman, who was a Versant resident in 2013. “I love that this new program allows us to not only develop clinical skills and support professional development but to also develop organizational pride.”
In addition to allowing for greater customization, having a Texas Health Nurse Residency program rather than using the Versant program saves the organization $2.5 million a year.
“We have a talented team in Clinical Learning that we knew could create a program that would support Our Texas Health Promise Principle of Efficient and better steward our resources,” said Dawson.
How the program works
The goal of the Texas Health Nurse Residency program is to “foster competence and confidence through a culture of excellence during the transition to practice through blended learning activities, clinical competencies and professional development.”
The Nurse Residency program features resident experiences designed to increase unit and system engagement, including:
- Individualized clinical experiences
- Resident huddles
- Preceptor evaluation
- Mentor program and professional development activities
Building a solid foundation
Stephanie Dill, R.N., Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne, appreciates the impact the residency has made and will make on her career.
“The residency has given me a solid foundation to work off of and the time to get comfortable with the people around me,” said Dill, a member of the program’s first cohort. “It’s given me tools and coping mechanisms that I’ll be able to draw from further in my career.”
Having the time to learn from other nurses was a key to success for nurse resident Shay Howard, B.S.N., R.N., Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital.
“Having multiple preceptors throughout the program gave me different perspectives on how to approach patients and nursing as a whole,” she said. “The residency allowed me to take my time and really figure out how to be an emergency room nurse and to figure out what I still don’t know.”
Nurse resident Megan Simmons, R.N., Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, looks forward to becoming a preceptor herself.
“The preceptors helped build my confidence as a new nurse, and I cannot wait until I have been a nurse long enough to give back and precept the new hires in the same way I was,” she said.
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