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Nurse Residency Programs And Retention Rates

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Nurse Residency Programs and Retention Rates Introduction Across the United States, hospitals are experiencing a nursing shortage. Yet, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 63,857 students graduated from nursing school in 2015 alone and enrollment is increasing. It seems like a lot of new nurses to fill those vacancies, does it not? Studies show, however, that within a year, about thirty percent of those new graduates have voluntarily left their job (Hillman). Further studies have attributed the high turnover rate to new nurses’ lack of competency to handle conflict, make critical decisions, and function autonomously (Bratt). Many of the new graduates are disappointed with the hospital’s orientation, or lack thereof. Lack of knowledgeable preceptors and lack of nursing staffing in general has led to new nurses being thrown into autonomous function more quickly. Without proper training, these nurses must make sound clinical judgements and provide competent care to patients, which anyone can imagine is stressful. Today, Nurse Residency Programs (NRPs) are being instituted in numerous hospitals as a way to improve new graduate nursing skill, but research shows many other benefits to these programs. NRPs also reduce hospital spending costs, increase patient safety, and most importantly increase new nurse retention rates. Problem As previously mentioned, the United States is experiencing a shortage of nurses. Looking forward to the years ahead, the baby

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