Connecticut Hospital’s Nurse Residency Program Aims to Reduce New Nurse Turnover

Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Conn. is working to addressing the problem of new nurse turnover head on by implementing a residency, or transition, program for 20 of its new graduate RNs. The program, Graduates: Engaged, Mastering & Succeeding (GEMS), rotates new nurses through four types of clinical settings – adult health, critical care, maternal-child health, and ambulatory – during their first 12 weeks on the job. Additionally, participants in the program receive support from groups and individual mentors.

According to a recent study by Pellico, Brewer and Kovner, nationwide, 18.1 percent of newly licensed RNs leave their first nursing employer within a year of starting their job, and about 26.2 percent leave within two years.