Long-Term Care Nurse Residency Program: Evaluation of New Nurse Experiences and Lessons Learned

Abstract

Transitioning to long-term care environments presents a significant challenge for new nurses and their directors of nursing. The complexity of this environment, instability of the workforce, and the lack of support structures frequently affect a new nurse's decision not to apply to long-term care, but to look for positions in acute care hospitals. To address these issues, a long-term care new nurse residency program was developed, implemented, and evaluated in New Jersey through the work of the New Jersey Action Coalition. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the residency program on new nurses' confidence, competence, retention, job satisfaction, and perceptions of organizational safety. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(10):474-484.

Caring self-efficacy of direct care workers in residential aged care settings: A mixed methods scoping review

“…20,23 Some examples of challenging situations were when a resident became upset, agitated, or violent, causing the direct care workers to feel frightened, or when family members or colleagues had differing priorities. 20,[30][31][32][33] Direct care workers reported that participating in interventions had enhanced their confidence level because they dealt better than they had before with their colleagues, residents' families, and administrators and felt less fearful of residents' challenging behaviours. 20,33 "I feel confident like in what I'm doing now, dealing with families, with my residents and with other team members".…”

“…20,[30][31][32][33] Direct care workers reported that participating in interventions had enhanced their confidence level because they dealt better than they had before with their colleagues, residents' families, and administrators and felt less fearful of residents' challenging behaviours. 20,33 "I feel confident like in what I'm doing now, dealing with families, with my residents and with other team members". 20(p226)…”

The Association Between new Nurses’ Gerontological Education, Personal Attitudes Toward Older Adults, and Intentions to Work in Gerontological Care Settings in Ontario, Canada

“…Providing new nurses with mentoring programs focused on gerontological nursing after graduation may be one strategy to implement. The efficacy of a 12-month mentorship program has been examined in Australia and in the United States, and there was a substantial improvement in nurses’ retention rates, and in their feelings of self-efficacy to care for older adults in gerontological care settings ( Lau et al, 2015 ; Salmond et al, 2017 ).…”

Pandemic Impact on the Preceptor/New Nurse Dyad

“…The preceptor serves as educator, guide, support, and resource person to the new graduate (Bohnarczyk, 2018; Chang et al, 2015; Foy et al, 2013; Ulrich, 2012). In a study by Salmond et al (2017), new nurses indicated that preceptors were crucial to their clinical practice. Even in the best of circumstances, preceptors find their role to be challenging.…”