Evaluation of a Leadership Focused Graduate Nurse Development Program

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses are leaving the profession in their first years of nursing, contributing to a global staffing crisis. The American Nurses Association (ANA) recognizes the impact of this crisis and refers to it as “unsustainable" (ANA, 2021). Opportunity exists to enhance first-year experience and reverse the trend of nurses vacating the profession within their first years. Purpose: To determine whether a graduate nurse (GN) development residency program focused on leadership and professional growth improves GN experience, confidence, and retention compared with a more traditional skill-based GN program" Methods: A select cohort of GNs was asked to participate in the evaluation of the residency program by completing the Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey (2006) after approximately three months in their new role, and again at approximately the 12 month mark. Results were compared in aggregate. Participants attended residency classes, developed evidence-based project proposals, participated in peer discussion groups, and met 1:1 with dedicated educator mentors throughout their first year. Retention rates for the sample GN cohort were compared with retention rates of cohorts from prior years. Results: Survey results changed very little between three and 12 months. Overall role confidence scores decreased overtime. Retention increased from 44.4% for the 2021 August GN cohort to 92.3% for the August 2022 sample cohort. Conclusion: First-year retention is improved with a leadership-focused GN residency program, though self-evaluated confidence remains consistent. Further research is needed to ascertain whether performance reflects stagnant confidence levels, and impact on two to three year retention rates.

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing

First Advisor

Clarisse Fairbanks

Date of Award

1-1-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

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