Nursing Educators

Ginnymac .... I do not have any of these tools, but in my last position (I was a Med-Surg Director), I worked very closely with the Education Director to develop a nurse socialization program. This was a program designed to introduce the new nurse into a comfortable environment focused on procedural and practical teachings. The mentorship program was very successful and we started to hire new grads as a result. I worked with the program for almost 2 years and during that time, we had a 100% retention rate for our new graduate nurses (RN's and LPN's) and the mentors (our experienced nurses) loved the program because it gave them direction as to what to focus on each day with their trainee.

The first step we took was to hold a focus group with the nurses we felt possessed the talent and characteristics we wanted to emulate to our new nurses. These nurses provided us with a lot of feedback that we used to develop the program. Many of the preceptors felt like there was no focus to the training and they needed a lot more direction. We structured the program so the preceptor had daily activities and objectives they needed to accomplish with the new nurse. In addition, we partnered several nurses on the floor with the new nurse, so he/she never had to eat lunch alone and developed quick friendships with his/her peer nurses. I was amazed at how well the program did after the first class.

Unfortuantely, I do not have a written material that I can share, but if you would like, I could answer questions that you might have as to how we accomplished certain things. Just give me an email and I will be happy to share whatever I know.

Good luck in your quest. Patrick