Nurse Residency Program's inaugural cohort gets under way

UC Davis Health System's newly established New Graduate Nurse Residency Program began in late January with an inaugural cohort of 39 nurse residents.

The nurses are participating in a national program developed by the University Health Care Consortium (UHC) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Each of the nurse residents is in his or her first paid position as a registered nurse, one of the requirements for acceptance into the Nurse Residency Program.

In its "Future of Nursing" report, the Institute of Medicine recommended nurse residency programs. In addition, state boards of nursing across the U.S. are considering requiring participation in a transition to practice program for re-licensure after a nurse's first year of practice.

The UC Davis residents are graduates of nursing programs in California, Nevada and Washington. During their one-year residency, the nurse residents will receive a series of classroom learning and work experiences designed to assist their transition into their first professional role and become leaders at the patient's bedside.

The Nurse Residency Program will enroll three cohorts of residents per year, in January, June and October. The residents are hired into available new graduate positions and will participate in the Nurse Residency Program for one year.

One of the primary goals of the program is to improve the residents' critical thinking skills and ability to manage outcome data, which promotes patient safety. The focus of the curricular content is on in-depth development of the resident's leadership skills, analysis of evidence, and application of outcome data to patient care in a variety of settings. Additionally, the nurse residents will participate in a national study that is evaluating transition into practice.

Those with questions about the Nurse Residency Program should contact program coordinator Katie Osborn at Kathleen.Osborn@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.