New Jersey Acute Care Nurse Residency Collaborative
Why Nurse Residency?
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) recommended in its 2011 report The Future of Nursing, Leading Change Advancing Health that residency programs be implemented to help new nurses transition into practice. Quality nurse residency programs have been linked to increased retention and quality of care.
In light of this recommendation, NJCCN researchers Dr. Edna Cadmus and Dr. Teri Wurmser conducted a study to identify and evaluate the nurse residency programs in New Jersey’s acute care facilities. Through this research, they identified a need for greater consistency in the quality, content, and structure of the programs.
To meet this need, NJCCN created the New Jersey Nurse Residency Collaborative. This joint endeavor will implement the nationally acclaimed Vizient/AACN Nurse Residency Program (NRP) as a standardized nurse residency to enhance new nurse retention and patient safety. The first cohort to enter the collaborative includes 19 acute care facilities from across New Jersey. These trailblazers will lay the groundwork for the NRP’s expansion in years to come.
In 2020 and 2021, NJCCN was awarded the Growing Apprenticeships in Nontraditional Sectors (GAINS) grant. The purpose of this grant was to establish new apprenticeships and expand existing apprenticeship programs in NJ as aligned with USDOL approved occupations. The apprenticeship model has 5 components: residents must 1) be progressively paid throughout the course of their program, 2) receive a minimum of 144 hours of classroom learning, 3) complete a minimum of 2000 hours of on-the-job learning, 4) receive 1:1 mentoring from a more experienced individual, and 5) be issued a Certificate of Completion by the USDOL. All people entering this program had to be employed in a full-time capacity and be a new graduate.
Vizient/AACN
The Vizient NRP is an evidence-based program that focuses on leadership, patient outcomes, and professional role. The program has been shown to result in decreased turnover; better, more effective decision-making skills; enhanced clinical nursing leadership; and improved incorporation of research-based evidence into practice.
Vizient has been implemented in hospitals in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Pensylvania, Maryland, and Hawaii have further implemented it as a statewide model, and New York City has implemented it city-wide to standardize nurse residencies across hospital settings.
The GAINS Grant
In 2020, NJCCN became a recipient of the Growing Apprenticeship in Non-Traditional Sectors (GAINS) Grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) to assist with the cost of implementing the NRP in the first cohort of hospitals. Of the 19 hospitals participating in the first cohort, 15 applied for and received GAINS grant funding.
The GAINS Grant 2
In 2021, NJCCN became a recipient of a second Growing Apprenticeship in Non-Traditional Sectors (GAINS) Grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) to assist with the cost of implementing the NRP in the second cohort of hospitals. Of the 18 hospitals participating in the first cohort, 11 applied for and received GAINS grant funding.
The GAINS Grant 3
In 2022, NJCCN received a third GAINS Grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL). Currently, we have 21 hospitals with 14 receiving funding.