The transition from graduate nurse to professional nurse can be challenging.
Just ask Samantha Sanders whose career path took a twist just months after becoming a newly licensed registered nurse in 2012.
“I lacked confidence and I felt like I could never fulfill the role,” Sanders recalled. “All I thought about was how I couldn’t learn everything I needed to know.”
After taking a step away from nursing to explore non-medical roles for a few years, Sanders learned about WellSpan Health’s Nurse Residency Program and was enrolled automatically upon being hired at WellSpan York Hospital in 2016.
In just one year, Sanders received the support and mentoring from peers and instructors in the program to help her not only overcome some struggles, but later develop into a mentor for others and fulfill her professional dream of becoming a NICU nurse.
Sanders is among the many success stories that has led to WellSpan Health’s Nurse Residency Program recently gaining accreditation from the American Nursing Credential Center, making it the only regional health system in southcentral Pennsylvania and northern Maryland to have earned this accreditation.
In 2019, 187 nurses successfully completed the Nurse Residency Program across the WellSpan health system and 90 percent of those nurses were retained.
“She’s (Sanders) a big success story,” said Carla Monticchio, program director and site coordinator for WellSpan’s nurse residency program.
The nurse residency program is for newly licensed RNs and is offered at six of WellSpan’s eight hospitals. WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital and WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital will begin getting acclimated to the program in 2021.
Teaching, support helps graduate nurses
WellSpan’s accreditation, which was awarded on Sept. 28, met guidelines for curriculum, content and evaluations as well as maintaining a cohesive program throughout its sites.
“We’ve worked hard to develop a program of excellence that meets the needs of nurses in transition,” Monticchio said.
At WellSpan, residency is a required one-year training program for newly licensed RNs that begins with nursing orientation. The program helps ease the transition from student to professional nurse by helping to hone skills and build confidence to ensure a successful RN career.
Monticchio, who teaches graduate nurses at WellSpan York Hospital, WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital and WellSpan Surgery & Rehabilitation Hospital, says that helping nurses through the struggles and connecting those nurses to career roles throughout the organization is the most rewarding part of the program.
“The reason we do it and the most valuable, brightest points for us as facilitators is having those wins with our residents. It can be uncomfortable at times when a nurse is struggling, but it can be the biggest wins that we have and a difference maker when it comes to keeping the graduates on a successful track,” Monticchio said.
Sanders uses program as catalyst
Sanders can be considered one of the success stories that Monticchio says highlights the heart of the nurse residency program.
In 2016, Sanders said a nurse manager at WellSpan York Hospital shared some information about the residency program and soon after becoming enrolled, Sanders immediately found support and learned that some of her uneasiness that she experienced in 2012 was common ground for a graduate nurse.
“They give each new grad a chance to share what’s been going well on the job or what’s been difficult for them on their journey,” Sanders said. “They’re able to talk amongst each other and share that sense of camaraderie. I’ve heard many stories of the program helping new nurses find the proper ‘fit’ for them as well.”
Upon completing the program in 2017, Sanders left WellSpan for another nursing opportunity, but was rehired at 4 Southwest in 2018. A few months ago, Sanders joined the NICU nursing team at WellSpan York Hospital.
“I am so happy and because of the support I received, I am now able to help other nurses who may have experienced some of the same challenges,” Sanders said.
