Author: Categories: Roy Boukidjian, RN, was in nursing school when his instructors offered some practical advice: Seek out jobs at hospitals that have the best possible training programs for new graduates. If given a choice between a position that offers a higher salary versus one that includes a quality training program, pick the latter because it is critical to have a foundation of safe nursing practice when starting an RN career. Boukidjian took this advice. He accepted a job in the med/surg unit at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in Northridge, Calif. The facility is one of 50 hospitals in eight states that have adopted a rigorous 18-week training program called the Versant RN Residency.

• Nurse Residency Program Benefits
• Versant Rn Residency Program California

In an effort to attract new graduates and retain new hires during the strenuous first year of nursing, an increasing number of hospitals are beefing up their new grad training programs. And so far, their efforts seem to be paying off — not only among the new nurses, but in the veteran staff as well. A need for change At Northridge, Ann Dechairo-Marino, RN, PhD, CNAA, BC, chief nurse executive and senior vice president of patient care services, knew the hospital’s patient care and satisfaction scores were lower than she wanted them to be. The scores started dropping in the late 1990s after budget cuts, when the hospital was forced to eliminate some educators and other key nursing positions.

Nurse Residency Program Benefits

Dechairo-Marino was eager to improve the work environment for nurses. She had heard about a new training program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), and she knew the program had the potential to attract high-quality nurses and retain them.

Versant Rn Residency Program California

“They were leaving CHLA because they were not prepared for the complex environment of an acute care hospital,” says Charles Krozek, RN, MN, president and managing director for Versant. “Academic organizations do a marvelous job of getting nurses through the academic career and giving them knowledge, but students get limited experience in the hospital.” Taking the plunge In November 2004, Northridge took the plunge and started preparing to use Versant. As the first adult care facility to adopt Versant, Northridge became a beta test site for the program. The management team ironed out the schedule for the curriculum and how to balance staffing ratios to ensure that preceptors had fewer patients to manage, which would give the preceptors time to teach on the job.

Additionally, Versant provided training for new preceptors. “Sometimes preceptors get frustrated with the revolving door of new nurses, and they wonder, ‘What is in it for me?’ ” says Suzie Reinsvold, RN, MSN, senior vice president of implementation and standards at Versant. “Preceptors learn the residency will help train a colleague who is well prepared and will stay.” Versant also offers a Web portal that allows preceptors to input a new nurse’s competencies online. This online tracking system can be especially valuable when a new grad transitions to a new preceptor. In the Versant residency, participants work with three preceptors who have increasing levels of experience.

During debriefing sessions, new grads meet in groups with a facilitator to discuss issues that arose while on the unit. “For me, the best part about the program was the debriefing sessions,” Boukidjian says. Although each hospital can customize the Versant residency program, one of the highlights of the program is the fact that it standardizes the training process for new nurses. “In many hospitals, the training varies from unit to unit,” Reinsvold says.

“One unit may do it one way and another may train nurses a different way. Such variation can lead to fragmentation, duplication of effort, and inefficiency.” Benefits Although the Versant program costs about $5,000 per resident, the cost is well worth the benefit, according to Krozek. “Hospitals get 100% return on the investment because of the difference in turnover rates,” he says. “Hospitals will need to hire fewer new nurses.” At Northridge, for example, the one-year turnover rates have steadily decreased since the hospital started using Versant.

Before using Versant, the hospital’s one-year turnover rate was 35% to 40%. In 2006, the rate dropped to 15%, and in 2007 it was 7%. So far in 2008, the rate is 0%.

These numbers are similar to the national averages for the 50 hospitals using Versant. According to Versant’s 2008 national data for hospitals using the program, the one-year turnover rate is 4.8%. Northridge now enjoys the luxury of turning down nurse applicants, a phenomenon that did not happen in the past, Dechairo-Marino says. In February, 17 new grads started the nursing residency program; 70 had applied. Even though the statistics focus on the improved turnover rates in the short term, the benefits of better training programs have the potential for long-term improvements in a facility. “I think the future of the nursing profession depends on how we shape these new grads,” Reinsvold says. “While it may take us awhile to demonstrate it statistically, I’m convinced that the way we bring on new grads can impact the quality of patient care throughout a hospital.”.