My service learning site continues to be the New Nurse Graduate Residency Program at St. Mary Corwin Hospital. As stated in my first posting, this grant-funded program supports new nurse graduates who are employed at both St. Mary Corwin Hospital, and their sister facility, St. Thomas More Hospital, as they transition into the professional nursing role.
In my previous post, I mentioned that new nurse graduates hired at either St. Mary Corwin or St. Thomas More Hospitals have the opportunity to participate in the 12 month New Nurse Graduate Residency Program. Since that posting, these facilities now require all new nurse graduates to participate in the Residency Program. They begin a new cohort of new graduates four times per year.
I continue my service to the New Nurse Graduate Residency Program by offering the participants experiences with high fidelity simulation. I develop and implement case scenario simulation experiences specific to the nurse’s specialty unit. To date, I have developed and implemented specific high fidelity simulated case scenarios for 19 new nurse graduates. This past month, I developed and implemented scenarios for three new nurses. One of the new graduates work in Telemetry, the other two on the General Medical Unit. An example of the scenarios that were developed and implemented for the nurses who work on the General Medical Unit, is:
1. One of the nurses cared for a simulated type II diabetic patient who was being admitted with for a foot ulcer. The purpose of the admission was for a wound consult and blood glucose control. Shortly after the admission, the patient develops symptoms of sepsis. The nurse is to recognize the symptoms, phone the provider, and follow through with appropriate management.
2. The other General Medical Unit nurse admits a patient who is six weeks post partum, and presents with abdominal pain. The woman has the 6 week old infant in her arms and has no family available to care for the infant. During the scenario, the patient is diagnosed with cholecystitis and the nurse must prepare her for surgery. Meanwhile, the infant remains in the patients’ arms.
This project continues to be very successful. Simulated case scenario experiences provide the new nurses with opportunities to learn in a safe environment. The new graduates are able to “practice” problem solving and prioritizing, as well as communication and interdisciplinary collaboration.
To date, I have spent approximately 100 hours on this project with the St Mary Corwin New Nurse Graduate Residency Program. My role in this endeavor continues as both a consultant, and a provider of services. I plan to continue this collaborative effort in assisting St. Mary Corwin and St. Thomas More with their New Nurse Graduate Residency Program. As the need arises, I plan to develop new scenarios specifically geared for the needs of the facility and the needs of the new nurse graduates. I see this as a challenge in the near future because the next cohort of new graduates are all perioperative nurses. I am not sure at this point how to implement this type of scenario, but I look forward to this challenge!!
Joanne-
ReplyDeleteYour posting was very engaging. I liked the way you were able to incorporate ethics and critical thinking in the scenarios you created for the nurse residency program. The aspect of simulation adds a different aspect to the learning and teaching engagement. I feel that you are imperative in the empowerment of these new nurse's and will be responsible for the retainment of these valuable team members of the hospital. Your have been able to successfully master the objective of collaboration in your endeavor for DNP. I like the fact that simulation provides a safeness to practice scenerio's that we as nurses are challenged with everyday in our own facility. Krista LaRussa