National Nurses Week 2024 - Nurses Make The Difference

EPISODE 5: In this special episode of The Beyond Nurse Residency Podcast, host Nicole Weathers celebrates Nurses Month and Nurses Week by shining a spotlight on on-site residency coordinators and healthcare organizations that are doing a great job of supporting their new graduate nurses. Nicole sits down with three exceptional residency coordinators from different healthcare organizations in Iowa, Minnesota, and Colorado, who are the driving force behind the success of their respective Iowa Online Nurse Residency programs.

Listeners get the opportunity to learn more about the unique organizations, how they customize their programs, and how they reward and recognize their nurse residents and experienced nurses. This episode is a great resource for anyone interested in learning about the efforts of these organizations to shape the next generation of nurses and ensure their successful transition into practice.

SPECIAL GUESTS:
Meridith Wulf, MSN, RNC-NIC (1:38)
Director, Patient Care – Women’s & Children’s Services, Nursing Development
Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia, MN

Molly Vander Ley, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CPN, CBIS (15:45)
Clinical Learning and Development Specialist
ChildServe, Inc. Johnston, IA

Shauna Meilner, MSN-Ed, RN, CCRN, CNE (28:23)
NRP Site Coordinator
Delta Health Hospital, Delta, CO

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To learn more about our nurse residency program and other offerings, please visit our website: https://nursing.uiowa.edu/ionrp

Transcript

Nicole Weathers
Welcome to a very special episode of The Beyond Nurse Residency Podcast, where we're celebrating Nurses Month and Nurses Week by turning the spotlight on our on-site residency coordinators and healthcare organizations doing things right when it comes to supporting their new graduate nurses. I'm your host, Nicole Weathers, and in this episode, I have the privilege of sitting down with three remarkable residency coordinators from different healthcare organizations, one from here in Iowa, one from Minnesota, and another out in Colorado. These dedicated professionals are the driving force behind the success of the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program implementation at their organization. They are shaping the next generation of nurses and ensuring their successful transition into practice. In this episode, you will get the opportunity to learn more about the unique organization, what they are doing to customize their program, and really make a difference for their new graduate nurses and the ways in which they are rewarding and recognizing both their nurse residents and experienced nurses, this month and throughout the year. So what do you say? Let's get started.

Nicole Weathers
All right, so we have Meridith Wulf here from Ridgeview Medical Center. So, Meridith, why don't you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself, your organization, your role and the nurse residency program at your organization?

Meridith Wulf
Thank you for having me. My name is Meridith Wulf. I am the director of patient care at Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia. Minnesota. I oversee our women's and children's services and then also our nursing professional development, which encompasses all of nursing professional practice. One of the very first things that we did when we initiated the nursing development role at our institution was look for a partner. For nurse residency. So that was when I first started, as in the director role. That was one of my very first tasks and roles was to help to develop our nursing residents and our new graduates and the best fit for us was through the collaboration with the University of Iowa Nurse Residency program. So I managed that program. I am our site coordinator. It is one of the things I am most proud of that we've done in our institution because it's just been such a positive thing for New grads coming in to our organization. You know it helps with that recruitment piece of it. We have a lot of new grads that are asking about what we offer for development opportunities. So to be able to say that we have this amazing 12 month transition to practice experience for them and that they're going to be mentored through. It has been a really great piece of our recruitment strategy too and since we started so our first cohort was October of 2020 at Ridgeview and we have enrolled 117 residents through the program.

Nicole Weathers
WOW, has it really been that many?

Meridith Wulf
Yes, I counted them this morning, 117.

Nicole Weathers
Ohh, my Goodness.

Nicole Weathers
OK, well, so this is really something unique that I want to point out here. So you are sort of it I what I call sort of an in between size hospital. You could use probably we offer two options, right? We offer our all online and our blended option and you guys have chosen even though you're sort of that in between size and you've done 117 residents and just over three years you've chosen to go the all online route. So maybe you can talk a little bit about why that option works well for you.

Meridith Wulf
Absolutely. So when we were first looking at, you know, our options for residency programs, we did evaluate both. Would it be a good choice to have use that blended option and use our own resources here? But when we were looking through the content and just the quality of the online portion, it really fits our needs and our resources that we have available here at Ridgeview for our residents. We have a very small education department, where we just have a couple of clinical nurse educators and to utilize their time differently, we have chosen to, you know, use the high quality online option and then the flexibility that goes along with that has worked really, really well for us. Just to be able to, you know, they have their 190 minute cohort session that they are scheduled for and the rest of it they just kind of fit in on their own time and that's been a really big benefit for the residents. That's been a positive take away from them is that this works for my life because I can do it when it works best for me.

Nicole Weathers
Well, I appreciate you sharing that with us. So you know each organization does use our program a little bit differently and I think that's one of the the unique things that we like to talk about is how adaptable and flexible the program is. So maybe you can share now, you know one or two things that you do to sort of customize the program and make it your own.

Meridith Wulf
One thing that we I started doing more recently was the kickoff orientation day. So prior to them getting their cohort for the time I get us all together in person. It's really the only time our whole cohorts get together. So that new cohort we we all gather together and I have a brief presentation that I go through with them that just explains what our our organizations expectations, what are the residency programs expectations. What are the benefits of this? For them it gives me a good opportunity just to be face to face with them and have those conversations and answer the questions and talk about the why behind why do you need a residency program and how is this going to benefit you? We talk a lot about nursing, professional development and having opportunities and seizing those opportunities that are offered to you. And so we discussed that too. And then I, you know, we have a binder that we've created for them and then that gives me an opportunity to go through their binder and really make a connection with them from the very beginning, and then we also do the get started content together that day and then they can then they have time to complete their month one transitions content as well. So that I know that they've all been prepped and are ready to go when they have that first cohort discussion then usually within the next couple of weeks. And then our nurse educator has also created skills stations. One of the feedback that we have gotten is that there's not, you know, they're they're so anxious and excited to learn those hands-on skills and they're that's what they're hoping for when they start the residency program. So that orientation day also gives me a chance to explain to them. Like this is the content that you're getting and then our nurse educator puts together skills stations that correlate with what they're talking about in the program. So she's created a roving skills cart that is geared towards the nurse residents, but it's also been really positive for all the other nurses on the unit too, that have access to it, but then she'll give them an opportunity to go through a specific procedure or a hands-on skill, and then that moves around the hospital to the different units.

Nicole Weathers
So I just love this idea of the roaming skills cart. So I was actually able to visit with, I think one of your educators who works on this maybe a month or two ago, when she when she was explaining this, I thought, Oh my gosh, what a great compliment to a flexible online program is flexible hands-on skills. So can you explain a little bit more about how this cart works so you pick one skill a month, let's say central lines. Yep. And you set up a part and it goes, you just move it from department to department or what does that sort of look like and what are some of the things that are on this cart that the the nurse residents are actually doing?

Meridith Wulf
Yeah. So we just did one that was central lines and it was specific to drawing from picks. And so we have this chest that sits on the cart and this chest has a central line in place and then the bins all have the supplies that you need to draw blood from a central line. And then she sets up. This is the, you know, she'll have a copy of the procedure. This is how you do the skill and then education around it. So some, maybe some information from clinical skills that shows this is more digs in a little bit deeper, dive into into the what the skill itself is and what is the nursing practice related to that skill. And then they actually get hands-on practice so they use the supplies and they practice with the mannequin and then that goes, you know, she has a schedule and she'll send out an e-mail to the nurse manager, you know, before she drops it off and saying this is what the skill is for this month, this is where it's going to be on your unit for this amount of time. And then it moves around then each week. Some of the skills you know are very adult medicine focused me being over women's and children's. We tried to find some tie in there too for our nurse residents that are new to the women's and children's areas and it just so happened that she was doing this pick line skills cart and we had an OB patient that had a was having a pick line placed and needed to have blood drawn from this pick line and it was a a new grad that was helping too. So I mean it was a really great tie in to how this cart can be used all over the hospital, but it was so beneficial for all of the nurses that were were participating in that to be able to practice 1st and then go and do the real thing.

Nicole Weathers
Awesome. I just love that. I think that is such a unique way to get those hands-on clinical skills. Again, in a little bit more flexible manner, it doesn't require them coming in extra on their day off to, you know get this done, but they can do it, you know, during maybe a little bit of down time at work or before or after their shift. So I think that is awesome. All right. Well, so this episode is all about, you know, spotlighting some of our different organizations, talking about how they're customizing the program and really making a difference for their new graduates. And since this is going to be airing the month of May, which is nurses month, that's when we celebrate nurses week. I would love to hear any sort of unique ways that you are recognizing either your nurse residents, your new grads or your more experienced nurses either this month or even throughout the year.

Meridith Wulf
Yes. So we recently just, you know it was national certification day. So all of our certified nurses in the hospital received a letter from our nursing Professional Practice Council, just thanking them for their contributions to professional practice and professionalism and showing their expertise through holding a certification and then they we had a bunch of prizes and so they all had their names all got put into a hat and we were able to draw and provide some some fun swag for some of our certified nurses. And then we do have a plan throughout for nurses week. We will do something fun or different. Every day get different treats you know, recognize their contributions to nursing practice and and how important they are to our our organization.

Nicole Weathers
All right. And is there anything special that you do at the end of the residency program to really, you know, celebrate your new grads as they come to the end of their first year? They've given you an extra 12 months of growth and development and they've really, you know, usually done a pretty awesome project, so maybe you can talk a little bit about that. If you do anything special.

Meridith Wulf
We have our Chief Nursing Officer sign their certificate. And then I print off each of those and give them to their nurse managers, and then each nurse manager kind of does a little bit something different. They give them a shout out in their monthly newsletter. They are recognized, you know, on their unit, usually with a sign. Congratulations. Thank you. Way to go. Some of them who have presented these projects at nurse manager, we've really encouraged that to have them come to our our leader meetings and present some of their projects that way too. Especially that helps with the implementation of those things. And then our Nursing Professional Practice Council recognizes them in our quarterly newsletters as well. So they get a a little call out there too.

Nicole Weathers
And I think one thing that always impresses me with Ridge view is that you guys make such a point to come to their final celebratory webinar that we have with them in the online where they are presenting their project to their group of peers, but also we invite all the nurse leaders and, you know, on site coordinators, from the organizations to attend that as well. And it seems that Ridgeview always shows up for those they do a fantastic job of kind of showing their support to the larger group and then always filling them of words of affirmation that they've done a great job, you know, with this project or professional experience, depending on what they select to do.

Meridith Wulf
Absolutely. I think that piece of it is almost as important to their mentor and to their leaders as it is to them because we've we've encouraged them for this whole 12 months and helped them be, you know, work through this project and these all of these steps of what does it look like to institute change and and they're doing it. And I'm just filled with so much pride every time it is one of my favorite days where you know, we just and not even just for our residents, which I am so proud of all of them and their accomplishments and and how well they present themselves and how well they represent Ridgeview. But it is such an honor to be there and listen to every all of those residents they've worked so hard and they I'm so impressed with just the the work that they have put out and what they're what they're doing and that's important to all of our leaders here and you know that comes directly from our CNO as well. She's extremely supportive. She attends a lot of those as well. It's just it's it's important to us and that is, you know, our culture of kindness and compassion is to really demonstrate we're here for you. And we didn't just support you these 12 months. I'm going to continue to support you as you grow and learn and develop.

Nicole Weathers
That's just awesome. Well, Meridith, it's been a pleasure to visit with you. Thank you so much for all the work that you put in to supporting your new graduate nurses. All 117 of them so far, which I think is just awesome. And we're really very grateful that we get the opportunity to partner with such a great organization like Ridgeview.

Meridith Wulf
Well, thank you very much.

 Nicole Weathers
All right. So our we're going to start off with Molly Vander Ley from ChildServe in Johnston, IA. So Molly, why don't we start off by having you tell us a little bit about yourself, your organization, your role and how you're using the Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program at your organization.

Molly Vander Ley
Yeah. So I'm Molly Vander Ley. I'm the clinical learning and development specialist at ChildServe. Our primary location is in Johnston, but then we have other locations that are also all around the metro and in Ames and Iowa City and ChildServe’s Mission is to partner with families to help children with special healthcare needs, live a great life. ChildServe improves the health and well-being of nearly 5800 children each year through specialized clinical home and community based programs and services. We're experts in pediatric rehabilitation and care for children and young adults who have a wide variety of developmental delays, disabilities, injuries and other special healthcare needs. We've been using the IONRP since October of 2020. It was pretty evident that we needed to have a residency program. And due to kind of our our makeup and how many residents we were really hiring a year, it didn't make sense for us to build our own in-house program. And so we were so grateful to be able to have this partnership. So in that first two years, you know, we had enrolled two different residents per year and then now we're up to 15 that are in the program at one time. And we've had a total of 26 residents that have been through the program in total, which is really exciting.

Nicole Weathers
Wow.

Molly Vander Ley
Yeah 

Nicole Weathers
That's much bigger than I thought maybe it was gonna be.

Molly Vander Ley
Yeah, I was kind of taken aback when I looked at the numbers. I knew that we had had a few at a time, but that significant jump recently cause, I think it's spoken a lot to the program. You know, they’re are all new grads. They're all looking for nurse residency programs. When they were looking for jobs and the fact that we have 15 at one time says a lot. But you know, they were interested in this program and how it's set apart from other different facilities, you know, in addition to just being able to work at ChildServe as a whole.

Nicole Weathers
Awesome. Well, you know, and I think ChildServe is really unique. So one of the things that we always talk about when we talk about our program is how adaptable it is to various settings. So that was one of our missions is to create a program that was cost effective, that was adaptable, that could be implemented with little startup time and resources, so I think this just speaks to you know, how unique really ChildServe is and how adaptable really this program might be to different organizations, different organizational needs. And each organization is really able to make it their own. So maybe next you can talk a little bit about what are, you know, some things that you're doing to customize this program that you feel is really making a difference for your new graduates.

Molly Vander Ley
So, the two things that set us apart are the one-on-ones that are built into the program, but I think how we approach them is a little bit different. And then two the clinical skills sessions that we've added on outside, so the one-on-ones, even though they're built into the program the way that Kyra, our inpatient educator, handles them is one of the things that we've heard, the most positive feedback about. So they appreciate the time to kind of have a safe space to be able to talk about whatever is currently going on and help bringing that online content back to our facility. And so that time is really for whatever the residents need, then whether it's a place to be able to decompress during a stressful shift. Or she's a really good hype girl, so they just need to be hyped up for the day she's wonderful at that too. And then the other aspect was that clinical skills so at ChildServe, we care for children and young adults with very complex medical needs and as a new nurse, they oftentimes don't feel prepared coming into the organization. To be able to care for this very special population, and so after those first two years using the program, right, the most common feedback we heard was that the online content was great, but some of that hands-on clinical skills was missing. And so we strongly believe that the residency program is really about giving these new grads what they need not necessarily what we think we think they need. And so we added on that time for the clinical skills and so the way that we have this formatted is that once a month we have a 2 hour time period that has a set topic and that topic could be some complex respiratory care. It could be central lines and venipunctures, and so all residents in their first six months of the program will attend those sessions together. It allows for the residents to get to know the other residents that are in there, whether in the same cohort or if they were in a cohort that was at a different time. Multiple oftentimes have multiple cohorts that are overlapping and it could be across all three of our inpatient units because that's primarily who is utilizing the program. And then lastly, we've recently added on a welcome dinner where we, you know, order food and get together with the residents that are all being enrolled at the same time so they can get to know each other, they can get to know, you know me and Kyra, we can get to know them and start to build that foundational relationship and kind of also touch base with them about their expectations. And to make sure that they get all of their content done before that first live discussion. So having that in person connection has definitely helped with the compliance aspect of that instead of just a million emails that we know they are often really busy and may not get to.

Nicole Weathers
Awesome. I just love this. I think you know, as I'm hearing you talk about some of the unique things you're doing. The cool thing about the program is you know, we handle a lot of the foundational knowledge and content but that is just one piece, right? And those relationships and those connections are such a huge piece of a residency program. And I think a lot of times when people think online residency program, they don't think about how they could really augment and still make those connections, build those relationships, but do it in conjunction with, you know, a program that's delivered online. So, I just love that you are really taking the time to customize this. You're building those relationships not only with Kyra, you know, one of your residency coordinators, but also with the residents themselves. And who doesn't love a get-together meal to kick off a year-long program? So I just that must be something that's fairly new for you guys because I think that's the first time I've heard you talk about it.

Molly Vander Ley
Yes, that's definitely been newer with the past couple cohorts. You know we were always celebrating when they finished but we said, why not celebrate and get them excited in the beginning, right, they oftentimes, you know, maybe have a little bit of nerves going into it. Not 100% sure what to expect and so by being able to meet with them knowing that you know we're here to answer any questions and giving them a little bit more realistic view of what their next year will look like kind of helps you know relieve some of those anxieties about it. You know, feeling like school work or something like that. Oftentimes when they leave that they're much more excited going into the program. 

Nicole Weathers
That just sounds like such a great way to sort of manage up the program. Right. And garner some of that excitement and help let them know that this is an important piece of ChildServe. We care about you. We care about your success. And this is one of the tools that we provide to you to make sure that you are successful. So I just love that and thanks so much for sharing that with our listeners today. So last question of our little spotlight here on ChildServe. So you know this month this episode is going to roll out in May, which is always one of my favorite months because of nurses month. We celebrate nurses week and it's all about recognizing you know the great things that nurses are doing and how they are making a difference. So I would love to know what ChildServe does to recognize their nurses, whether they are experienced nurses, whether they're, you know, their new graduate nurses that are going through the residency program. What are some things that you either do throughout the year or specifically here in the month of May to recognize and reward that great work that they're doing?

Molly Vander Ley
Yeah. So especially for nurses week every year we do T-shirts. T-shirts are kind of a big deal here, so our nurses are able to wear like a ChildServe branded T-shirt, you know, along with their scrub bottoms, there's almost a competition between different disciplines. Sometimes, like, who has the cooler shirt. And so our leadership team kind of puts together, you know, customized shirts every year that are just for our nurses. And you know it's a different shirt each year. So you can tell who was here for how long based on what shirts they've had. And so those are org wide, but then there are oftentimes additional things that each service does too. So we've seen anything from, you know, like emergency kits to have in your car for home care staff to, you know, some services have brought in like massage chairs and then leaders went around and made sure that, like, the staff got off the floor to go use them or bringing, you know, fun items around. One of the favorites that I heard the most about last year was actually like some really nice,  fun pens that had different sayings and stuff on them. You know, as nurses, I feel like we all get possessive over our pens. So getting a really nice one was actually something that they were excited about.

Nicole Weathers
I bet. Absolutely. I know I always, you know, had my certain pens that I like to use. Anything else you want to share about how you recognize and reward your nurses?

Molly Vander Ley
So I guess we do a lot of like just personalized notes throughout the year and a big thing is even the they're called pop cards where they have like different sayings and stuff on them. You know, we do a lot for certified nurses days. So people that have a little additional incentive there, but otherwise it's a lot of just heartfelt thank yous too, you know, making sure that we're able to recognize them. And then especially for our residents when they do graduate, being able to have, you know, not only something specifically with the residency celebration and inviting leadership to be able to listen to their presentation, but then being able to have something on the unit to make sure that all of their peers are able to recognize the hard work that they have put in over the past year and really be able to raise them up for that.

Nicole Weathers
That's great. You know, I really love what I hear about organizations who take the time to celebrate them at the end because we are essentially asking them to continue to give us their time for a whole year and while they get a lot out of this, it's just it's good to know at the end of the day that we really appreciate that time. And I think that helps them really, you know, take the time to sit in that accomplishment and that celebration and really see how far they've came. So I appreciate Molly, you sharing this spotlight on ChildServe here as our mark of nurses month recognition and I appreciate working with you for the last four years and getting to know you and your amazing organization and all the great care that you are providing to your patients. So thanks so much, Molly, for being here with us today. 

Molly Vander Ley
Yeah. And thank you so much. I was going to say the reason that we're able to do all of the additional things and really focus on those relationships is because of your program and how much that you're able to put into it that we don't have to worry about those foundational things. So, so without you, there's no way that we could do what we're doing. I really appreciate it and appreciate the support that you guys are able to give to nurses all over the country.

Nicole Weathers
So our next guest that we have here with us today is Shauna. So Shauna, why don't you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself, your organization, your role and the program there at Delta Hospital.

Shauna Meilner
OK. Hi, Nicole. And like she said, I'm Shauna. I'm the site coordinator for the Nurse Residency program at Delta Health Hospital in Delta, Co. So I have been in this role since 2022 when we started our program. And it was really through, the site coordinator at another facility. Umm, I was speaking to her about our need for a residency program. And she told me about the one being offered through Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence and their partnership with Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program. So the more we learned about it, the more we felt like for our small rural hospital. It was just perfect and it would allow us to get a residency program going relatively quickly during a year when we were actually going to lose some of the new graduates that we wanted to hire because of not having a residency program in place. So anyway, we have been at it for almost 2 years now and we have graduated nine nurse residents from our program and we currently have 3 enrolled in three different cohorts and we're looking to enroll probably at least 5 more new graduates they should graduate in May, and so we're hoping to enroll them for the July 2024 cohort.

Nicole Weathers
You've had nine already, in the time that you've been working with us, so that is awesome and it's so great to hear that you think you'll be growing here in the next few months. So thank you so much for sharing that. So I think I just want to highlight one thing that's unique about your organization. Cause you kind of came to us through a roundabout way. So we actually have a partnership with the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence and they were working on an effort, a statewide initiative to get residency or transition to practice support out into the rural hospitals. So it was actually through that initiative that you ended up here with the Iowa program, so on this episode, we've talked to a couple of different organizations that actually came to us through, you know, different avenues. They're in different states. And so I think it's, it's just great to share your unique story and sort of how this started for you and you actually are even a little bit more unique because correct me if I'm wrong, but you are you sort of used part of this implementation for your DNP project, is that correct?

Shauna Meilner
That was actually my Masters project back in 2022. It was my Masters Capstone. And with both my Masters and DNP projects, I've really wanted to do something, create something that would really be meaningful for our organization and fill some pretty large gaps and I've I have felt for the last four years since returning to grad school that my calling right now with this phase in my nursing career is definitely towards nursing students, new nurses and those that are just being welcomed into the Delta Health family. So I did the nurse residency program in the year 2022, as I was wrapping up my Masters and then I've done the Clinical Ladder Program, which is even on a larger scale because it includes all the nurses, but it also provides a place for the nurse residents to transition into upon graduation from residency. So that's actually what I've been doing for my DNP project is the next phase.

Nicole Weathers
Awesome. Well, that is great to hear. And are you graduating soon?

Shauna Meilner
I graduate in about 19 days so May 9th and 10th is our hooding and graduation. I do have one final class in the summer, so I'll actually have my degree in August.

Nicole Weathers
Awesome. Well, congratulations and what a great thing to celebrate in May, which is all about celebrating nurses and all the great work that they bring to our profession. So congratulations a few days early and I am so glad that you know our program could share a small part in helping all of these new graduates and other nurses at your facility, so well, that's just great.

Shauna Meilner
Yes, thank you. Thank you.

Nicole Weathers
All right. So first question that I want to talk to you about is, you know, one thing that we talk a lot with organizations about is how you can use our nurse residency program as a real great foundation for an organizational residency program. But there are lots of different ways that you can really customize this to meet your needs. So maybe you can talk about, you know, one or two things that you do that's sort of unique at your facility and you feel is really making a difference for your new graduate nurses.

Shauna Meilner
Sure. One of the first realizations I had when it came to setting up these new programs is that it had to be a team effort. I do still work in surgery and radiology and since I've been a full time student for four years, I did realize early on that I was not going to be able to oversee a program in a real hands-on time intensive way. So right from the beginning we started recruiting the department managers to go through the mentorship training that's offered by Colorado Center and then having them help us decide who in their organization from a pool of seasoned nurses would be best as preceptors for the new graduate nurses, who were all put into the residency program as they started working at Delta Health, just how they got that one-on-one preceptorship, but also the mentor support that would last even longer than those first few months of orientation. So I feel like we've done a really good job at kind of distributing the workload with the program. I do still touch base with the residents on at least a monthly basis, but really they're working directly with the preceptors who are experts in their chosen departments or fields and then I keep in close coordination with all of the department directors, especially when they have residents, you know, at that point in time just with how they're doing, what they're choosing to do for their practice projects or their case studies or their committee work and what needs can they fill within the department and also increase the whole EBP culture in our facility because I felt like we were a little bit behind in that regard and the last few years we've seen a lot of growth when it's come to implementing the evidence based practice or EBP standards and just getting nurses more involved as leaders and also just as part of the healthcare team and I I feel like both the residency and the clinical ladder program work towards that end, but that's how it looks at my organization so I also coordinate with the Director of Education and the Education Coordinator just to see how the nurse residents can plug in at different areas, both within their department but also hospital wide. And then for continuing education, that's important for them in their new roles as nurses.

Nicole Weathers
What I hear you talking about is multiple layers of support, so of course they have the online program that they go through. They're meeting with our residency facilitators and they're meeting with other new graduate nurses from other rural facilities in as part of those online components. But then you're really making sure that they have in person support as well. So I heard you talk about preceptors. I heard you talk about their nurse directors serving as mentors and then of course you yourself overseeing all of that and helping facilitate the development of some of those relationships. So I think that is something that we can't overstate enough the importance of making sure you still have that in person support even when you're utilizing an online program.

Shauna Meilner
Yes, I think that is very important and I have felt all along like the nurses still have to bring in a certain level of motivation and just commitment to logging on. I think it has been a little bit more difficult for our night nurses who are just starting out on 12-hour night shifts. Sometimes it does mean staying up after a long night or looking ahead to working another night shift following a live discussion. So I do feel like the program is flexible enough that they are able to still make it work even with their sleep and work schedules being a little bit opposite of the majority of us. But yes, I feel like that in-person, support is crucial, but also the right off the bat we have the discussion like you're going to have to commit to probably about five hours per month and it's going to involve this and this and for the program to really be at its best or at its most meaningful to you. And we secure that commitment early on because I'm not able to physically, you know, be there to hold their hand through it. And sometimes the preceptor fills that role, but it's also the nurse resident who does the modules and does need to set aside time to log in to the discussions. And so it's definitely a joint effort all the way around.

Nicole Weathers
That's great. And you know, that sounds like you're kind of setting the stage too with some of those discussions even for that ongoing commitment to your own professional development. So you know we're giving you these great foundational tools. We're giving you the structure and the support that you need to really grow and develop throughout the first year. And guess what? Even then, it's not done right. So do you want to talk a little bit about how you you talked already about this next step of the clinical ladder and how you are using that for your DNP project?

Nicole Weathers
But how do you see these nurse residents stepping into that as their next step?

Shauna Meilner
So most of them recently came to a skills days which is similar to we've had education days in the past and each organization calls it something different. But it was days that were set aside for just some extra education and training for every level of nurse. So I had a table that I was manning for the clinical ladder program, but I made sure that the current nurse residents and then even a couple of that employees that are working maybe as CNA's, but they're getting ready to graduate from nursing school who are going to go on to then have nursing roles at our facility. I made sure to talk to each of them about how they can use the clinical ladder program after they graduate from the residency program. Like what is in each section and I like it because it's very flexible if if teaching and preceptoring other nurses even after a year of being a nurse, we've had several very motivated nurse residents that, once they were done with residency, they went and took the preceptorship training right away and now they're able to work with the new grads that are preparing to graduate in May. So whether it's that or whether they really love tackling policies and procedures to get those up to par, there's been some recognition that some of our policies and procedures are outdated and and we've had some, some new graduates and residents tackling those things. So any of those types of activities speak to the individual nurse can be used to not only get on to the clinical ladder at a certain tier, but then they know going for forward how to make professional goals like a list with their action steps for the following 12 months. How to get to the next tier or even jump 2 tiers if they're so motivated. So we're trying to give them the tools that they will be able to see how the residency once they're done with that program they can go right into the clinical ladder program and they have to be employed for at least 12 months to qualify for the clinical ladder program, which is perfect because the residency is 12 months long, so it just makes sense that they would want to be involved at the next step, especially if they have leadership or critical care or they they do know they want to go back to school for a bachelors or a masters degree or further where we're kind of showing them how that all ties into the clinical ladder program.

Nicole Weathers
Well, I love this because it gives them somewhere to go. You know, that's something that we talked about with the new grads, in the beginning is just because you finished your academic program doesn't mean you're done learning, right, now, you've got this year of residency, and we start talking about this before they're even done with the residency program that even though you're almost there, that again doesn't mean that you're done, right. There's always sort of that next step you, we have this commitment to lifelong learning. The clinical ladder is just such a great tool to help them sort of realize what some of those next steps might be and continue to progress in their career. So I just love that you guys have integrated that into your organization or sort of using the residency program as a great launching point for that because that's really what it is, right? It's just getting them acclimated to nursing practice. Getting them the solid foundation that they need to launch into whatever is next.

Shauna Meilner
Yes, I completely agree. And that's really what led me back to school in 2020. Honestly, if I could just share that for a few seconds, just I felt like after 27 years of being a nurse, I was stagnant. I didn't really find myself knowing how to set new goals, or if I even wanted to. I was kind of burned out just because I just didn't really have the vision I guess for what my nursing career could look like as an advanced nurse, so that really is what led me back to the classroom and this rediscovery of my love of learning. And I thought, wow, that took me a long time to get to that point where I'm really appreciating nursing as a career. And I I love using my brain again and just all the learning that's taking place these last four years. That's really what I want to give to nurses a lot sooner than 27 years into their careers, so it it I have personal motivation for wanting to just inspire the next generation of nurses coming up. 

Nicole Weathers
You know, we hear that so much when it comes to the residency program in particular, like so many nurses that are a little bit more experienced, a little bit more seasoned. I hear them say I just can't wrap my brain around where I might be if I had these tools back when I started, right. Because for many of us, it took five, ten, fifteen, twenty years before we were really moving down that path of what is next. And so I think it's just so awesome that so many organizations are really focusing on giving them these tools that so many of us wish that we had years ago.

Shauna Meilner
Yes, I agree completely. And I also feel like it's a great way to not have those 20% or 25% attrition rates of nurses leaving the profession in the first year. And I think we're going to start seeing some of those numbers dropping back down to because of programs like this. They're excited when they're going through nursing school. And we need to keep them excited once they're actually nurses.

Nicole Weathers
I agree. I agree. Awesome. Well, this episode of this podcast is going to actually launch in just a few days, so May is right around the corner and May of course, is all about celebrating nurses celebrating the difference that they make. And so I've been asking each of our guests to share if there's any unique ways that they are recognizing either all of the nurses at their organization or even in particular those new graduate nurses, you know, upon completion of the program.

Shauna Meilner
Yes, and I'll I'll speak more to how we recognize the nurse residents because I'm not sure how the the hospital's going to. They usually do something special for all the nurses, but I know for our nurse residents I usually do kind of an introduction to the residents article for our Delta Health newsletter when they first are starting the program, telling a little bit about what degree they got from where and a little bit about their background as they choose to share, they don't have to disclose a bunch of personal information, but sometimes they share about their families or and they all of them have been willing to send me a picture and I make it very colorful in the article just so we can keep the program kind of in in everybody's foreground and then during the Christmas holidays, I've been petitioning through the Delta Health Foundation to be able to get some Christmas gifts that are personalized for the new nurses that are the residents and then at the graduation, we've been given them engraved stethoscope, name badges. They're kind of metal name badges with their name and they're they're are in and they just are nice to have on their stethoscope. So they don't get lost or misplaced as easily. But it's just a token of their completion of the program. And then I do another article for I've written many articles in the Delta Health newsletter, but upon graduation, just showcasing what they chose to tackle for their practice project or their case study. And then one of our most recent graduates was very excited to have been part of a committee at Delta Health and she's going on to be to continue in that committee work. And she so that was where her passions lied. And so just to be able to share what that looked like for a new nurse and hopefully inspire some of the other seasoned nurses that have never been part of a task force or committee, or having a voice, you know more than just on their shifts on their units. So I really do feel like it's kind of permeating through the whole hospital to inspire all nurses to have more of a voice at our organization.

Nicole Weathers
I just love the visibility that you bring to your program. I know we've been able to partner a little bit and share some of those articles that you've written with our broader audience through our social media channels and things. And I think this is just a testament to, you know, what a wonderful organization you have and how much you're trying to raise up nursing. Your raising up these new graduate nurses and you are really celebrating all the extra effort that they are giving you because even though you know we are lifelong learners and we need to continue to grow and develop, they're committing a whole year, right, a whole 12 months to this program. To really giving their best every single day and then those professional experiences, you know, some of them are really impressive. What they are able to do. So I just love that you are looking for creative ways to celebrate them and really showcase their success.

Shauna Meilner
Yes, thank you. I I do really feel like it's influenced the the culture overall at our workplace. I feel like our administrative team is very open to innovations and new ideas and let nurses letting nurses like myself that have been there a while throw things out as far as new programs, and let's try this and how can we make this work? And I can I really have since the last few years that it's all making a a very big difference at my workplace. So thank you so much for inviting me to share. I'm very excited about the ways that the program has worked so far and how it will continue to morph and grow and we're excited to welcome our new round of residents here in a month.

Nicole Weathers
Well, we just love that we get the opportunity to work with your organization out there in Colorado. And we also look forward to the future and continuing to help you support your new graduates.

Shauna Meilner
Thank you so much. You guys are doing a great job and you're always so responsive and wise and I really appreciated the support from Iowa team. So thank you, Nicole.

Nicole Weathers
Wait before you go, I want to make sure you know all about our suite of resources you can use to support your new graduate nurses. This includes our Academy, a coaching program designed for organizations as they prepare for the implementation, and ongoing sustainability of a nurse residency program. Work one-on-one with residency program experts to make sure your organization is residency ready. Our clinician well-being course is an asynchronous online course that aims to enhance the well-being and resiliency of healthcare professionals, equipping them with the necessary psychological capital to navigate challenges inside and outside of work. Supporting nurses is another asynchronous online course for preceptors, mentors and coaches. To learn the skills they need to support any new hire. Both of these offerings can be used as a stand alone professional development opportunity or to augment any nurse residency program. And we can't forget about the program that started it all. The online Nurse residency program. This includes A comprehensive curriculum designed to support new graduate nurses, applying all the knowledge they learned in school to their practice, we focus on professional skills, personal well-being competencies, and new graduate nurses even get the opportunity to create real change in their own organization. Offered completely online and in a blended format, this program is highly adaptable to all clinical practice settings. You can learn more about all of these programs and more of what we offer using the links in the show notes below.