VCU news

By Michael Ford
University News Services

RICHMOND, Va. – Nursing Services at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and the VCU School of Nursing have been selected to participate in the University Health System Consortium (UHC) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Post-baccalaureate Nurse Residency Program.

The UHC/AACN Post-baccalaureate Nurse Residency Program provides a one-year appointment for new baccalaureate-prepared nurses. The program focuses on the transition of the professional nurse into the clinical setting and supports a nurse’s development as a clinician and as a member of the health care team.

“Nursing services and our colleagues from the VCU School of Nursing are extremely pleased to have been chosen for this program, as we believe it confirms our present and future commitment to excellence in patient care,” said Carol M. Crosby, vice president, Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer with the VCU Health System. “The new nurse residency program will positively impact and improve patient care by ensuring that new graduate nurses from baccalaureate programs receive the knowledge, skills and ongoing support to become excellent clinicians.”

The program is intended to promote a relationship between academic health centers and their partner schools of nursing similar to the relationship of graduate medical education residencies and schools of medicine.

“As the care provided in hospitals has become increasingly complex and expectations for nurses have escalated, the transition from being a student of a profession to being full practitioner of that profession has become difficult to negotiate,” said Nancy F. Langston, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the VCU School of Nursing. “The School of Nursing and Nursing Services have formed a partnership to implement this residency program because we know that the first year of practice has a significant influence on a new nurse’s decision to remain in practice. We believe it is our shared responsibility to provide a quality educational environment for both students of nursing and new nurses who we wish to retain for a life-time of practice.”

A standardized residency curriculum was developed, based on input from many chief nursing officers, who indicated a preference for baccalaureate-prepared nurses. Facilitated by expert nurse preceptors, the curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, research-based practice, communication skills, leadership and professional development within a framework of patient safety.

“Since we are one of the few health systems in the nation to be approved for this residency, we expect to attract the brightest nurses in Virginia and from the entire East Coast to the VCU Medical Center nurses who will become our future clinical leaders,” Crosby said.