New RN Transition Program:
West Virginia University Hospitals recognizes and
appreciates the stressors nurses experience when
beginning their careers.
To assist the new graduate to smoothly transition from an academic nurse to the role of a professional nurse, WVUH involves every new graduate in the New RN Hire Transition Program.
The goal of this program is to provide the new graduate with a supportive environment that promotes self directed, professional growth and development.
The New RN Hire
Program consists of the following:
The New Hire Transition Coordinator
The New Hire Transition Coordinator plays an active
role during hospital orientation and through out the
first year of employment, providing support and
guidance, facilitating the development of relationships
between the new graduate, the preceptor and the manager,
collaborating with Education, Training & Development to
incorporate appropriate continuing education
opportunities and organizing/facilitating peer group and
individual support systems.
One-on-One Preceptorship
Upon hire, all new graduates will be assigned a clinical
preceptor who will work 1:1 with them throughout
orientation, promoting the development of a strong GN-Preceptor
relationship and consistency throughout orientation.
Together, the preceptor and the new graduate will
identify individual learning needs and incorporate them
into the orientation pathway.
Orientation Education Track/Orientation Structured
Pathway
The Orientation Education Track is a group of workshops
and computer based learning programs that have been
identified by previous graduate nurses and preceptors to
be valuable to the clinical and professional development
of the new GN. The focus of these workshops is:
The Structured Orientation Pathway is an orientation
pathway with a weekly focus on specific body systems and
a corresponding classroom component. Weekly goal, skills
checklist and performance evaluation documentation is
included for improved monitoring of progress. The goal
of the Structured Orientation Pathway is to provide
structured guidelines and improve consistency for the
new graduate, while providing enough flexibility to meet
the new graduates individual needs.
Unit Clinical Preceptor Role
The unit clinical preceptor role is a new addition to
WVUH. Each nursing unit will have a unit clinical
preceptor that will be directly involved in the
assessment of new employees learning needs and the
development of the employees orientation and education
plan.
Active Involvement of Management
Unit managers/Unit Clinical Preceptor actively
participate in orientation by coordinating biweekly
meetings with the new graduate and the preceptor to
discuss achievements, expectations and goals, providing
daily follow up and support, and scheduling appropriate
workshops/meetings.
Nurse Internship (Offered at the discretion of the unit
manager)
Graduate Nurses working at WVUH that were unsuccessful
on the first attempt at taking boards have the option of
accepting a Nurse Intern position. This is a temporary
position available until the graduate is eligible to
retest (approximately 3 months).
As a Nurse Intern, the graduate is assigned to work with
a nurse mentor assisting with direct patient care. This
allows the new graduate to remain in the hospital
setting practicing nursing skills, receiving an hourly
wage, observing his/her mentor delegating, organizing
and prioritizing care and facilitating a smoother
transition/orientation after successful completion of
boards.
