The nurse residency program at Howard County General Hospital was accredited with distinction by the transition to practice program of the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2019. The program uses the standardized Vizient/AACN national curriculum that focuses on the professional development of the registered nurse during their first year of practice. The program also participates in the Maryland Nurse Residency Collaborative.
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The program lasts for 12 months and includes clinical orientation and professional development classes. Mentoring of nurse residents continues after the yearlong program.
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All newly hired graduate registered nurses with less than one year of acute care nursing experience.
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Interested individuals may apply in the careers section of the HCGH website and select the nurse residency cohort. All newly hired or eligible transfer graduate nurses are automatically enrolled in a cohort on the first day of employment as a registered nurse.
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New graduate nurses are hired into cohorts three times annually in March, August and October.
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Numbers may vary from 10 to 30 new nursing residents in each cohort.
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Seminars are held once a month. Topics focus on professional development with themes in leadership, quality outcomes and the professional nursing role.
The curriculum includes content that supports the ability of a nurse resident to: provide patient-centered care, apply quality improvement principles, function effectively within nursing and interprofessional teams, incorporate evidence-based practice, use informatics in practice, and apply basic safety design principles (Learning Objectives Vizient/AACN NRP Curriculum (2019). -
New nurses may experience reality shock, as well as stress and fatigue, when entering the profession. Mentoring and training new nurses as they transition into the registered nurse role may help to alleviate some of those factors.
Concepts learned in the Vizient/ANCC curriculum allow new nurse residents to apply leadership skills and decision-making abilities in the provision of high-quality evidence-based nursing care and health care team coordination, as well as in the facilitation of oversight and accountability for care delivery (Learning Objectives Vizient/ AACN NRP Curriculum [2019]).
The 2010 report on the “Future of Nursing” recommends a planned program for nurses' transition to practice. (Institute of Medicine, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2010.) -
The nurse residency program at Howard County General hospital allows for opportunities in the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Health System. The program also affords opportunities for growth, mentoring, collaboration and support from nursing colleagues in a diverse community.
For more information, contact Nurse Residency Program Manager Stephanie Al-Adhami, MSN, RN, CAPA at aladhami@jhmi.edu or call 443-718-3216.