Blanchard Valley Health System (BVHS) is launching a nurse residency program which will allow new nurses to transition from school to working at the bedside with mentorship and classes that will help them succeed and grow in confidence.

Classes will focus on the basics of nursing. Nurses will learn the systems of the body and will get to practice techniques during regular simulations. They’ll also learn how to strengthen their clinical reasoning such as learning how to manage medical complications and appropriate actions to take.

“This will help new nurses feel more comfortable and confident,” said Jessica Geckle, RN, a clinical resource nurse at BVHS who teaches system orientation. “And it will give them a smoother transition from being in school to working as a nurse.”

Nurse residency programs are becoming more common at hospitals nationwide, but some are only 12 weeks long. The BVHS program will last a full year, allowing mentors to follow nurses throughout their early careers and to ensure that they help develop an especially strong foundation of skills and confidence.

Any new graduate with six months or less of nursing experience will be automatically enrolled in the nurse residency program.

The first class will begin in June. The program offers rolling admission, so a new nurse will join whenever they are hired by BVHS, rather than having to wait until the next year.

“BVHS is consistently looking for ways to enhance the learning opportunities for each member of our family of professionals,” Geckle said. “The tips and tricks from this program are invaluable.”

For example, while the physical mechanics of skills like inserting lines and catheters can become muscle memory for experienced nurses, new nurses may benefit from gaining some practice doing them in a simulated environment, she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic meant nursing students, like students in any other field, received more of their education virtually. Geckle said the nurse residency program will give them more hands-on experience.

“Mentorship plays a huge role in nursing,” Geckle said. “In addition, the nurses will form relationships with one another as they work together through their residency. Because BVHS will offer rolling admission, nurses who have been in the program for six months can help guide new nurses who have just started.”

BVHS has been in contact with area nursing schools as leaders continue to recruit skilled new nurses to the health system. This program will help them, once they arrive, to feel encouraged, motivated and supported.

To learn more about this program, please call 419-429-7646.