South Georgia Medical Center celebrated its second cohort of nurse residency graduates on June 22. SGMC nurse residents complete the Vizient/AACN Nurse Residency Program, a 12 month program designed to prepare new nurse graduates with the skillset they need to care for patients.
All nurse residents are required to develop and present an evidence based project at the end of their residency. This cohort took a different approach to traditional presentations that are typically divided into small groups. The second cohort of SGMC nurse residents worked on a project titled Bedside Shift Report collectively as one group. The nurse residents conducted a survey to get feedback from other bedside staff in order to learn the benefits and barriers to a bedside shift report being completed consistently.
Shaknequa Pleas, Nurse Residency Program Manager stated, “Nurse residents are allowed the autonomy on projects; which is why we did a cohort project instead of several small separate group projects. An effort was made to include more interactive content to help them imagine real life situations they may encounter and have better tools to handle certain situations.”
The cohort presented their findings from the report during the celebration ceremony to nurse leaders.
According to Pleas, “It is important for new nurses to go through this program because it is difficult to transition from nursing school into a practicing nurse where they are the lead caregiver without an instructor to check behind them.”
The residency program allows greater exposure to resources in the healthcare system and community to assist them in being successful after the initial onboarding phase. Residents are able to connect with different subject matter experts and gain greater understanding of how different departments are influenced by nursing and what is needed from the nursing staff to help the organization improve. The program also allows the staff to network with other nurses on their same practice level that may be in different care areas.
“The goal is to assist the new nurses with connecting several puzzle pieces to see how everything fits together and plays a significant part to ultimately improve patient outcomes, professional roles, and leadership skills for the new generation of nurses onboarding,” says Pleas.
All new nurse graduates are eligible for the Nurse Residency program when hired at SGMC. A wide range of positions are offered and available.
To apply for a position click here.