About The Nurse Residency Program

Nursing is all about the critical apprasal and implementation of evidence.

What does it say about nurse residency programs? It suggests that these programs effectively prepare new graduate nurses with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for success and job satisfaction during their transition to practice.  However, up until now, none existed for Washington nurses working in the specialty environment of long-term care. Why? The typical cohort-based curriculum of a residency program is ineffective in the setting of long-term care where there may be only one new hire per location at a time. Face-to-face didactic is difficult or impossible, especially in rural areas. There are financial limitations and lack of investment that derive in part from cultural barriers and stigma that devalues elderly and disabled people who typically make up the patient population. This absence of a structured program has left new staff without the resources and support to thrive in the position they worked so hard to achieve.  Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has overwhelmed healthcare systems and the people who work within them. A solution was urgently required! Teams of professionals collaborated across multiple agencies to develop the material and its platform here in cyberspace. We are proud to provide this program designed especially for Washington nurses in our long-term care facilities.