The purpose of this evidence-based project was to compare one-year outcomes for newly licensed Registered Nurses (NLRNs) in three organizations within the same healthcare system. All three have lower than nationally reported turnover and strategies for NLRN retention. Only one is using a Nurse Residency Program (NRP). NRPs are recognized as an effective strategy to retain newly licensed registered nurses (NLRNs) in their first year of employment (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010; The Advisory Board, 2007; Spector, 2007). The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) (2008) defines an NRP as a series of learning sessions and work experiences that occur continuously over a 12-month period designed to assist NLRNs as they transition into their first professional nursing role. This cross-sectional, descriptive study utilized the Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey and intent to stay questions to collect data on NLRNs at one year post hire. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between the three sites and the subscales of the survey. There was a trend of a more positive score for professional satisfaction with Site A. Turnover was also similar between sites and lower than the reported 10% average, with Site A at 2%, Site B at 5%, and Site C at 4%. There was a statistically significant difference between Site A and C in the intent to stay in their current position, with Site A longer than Site C. The study supports the literature and evidence that a NRP is an effective strategy to decrease first year turnover. Further study is needed related to the effectiveness of the components of the NRP, length of time for mentorship, and the impact of accumulation of cohorts.

The Future of Nursing explores how nurses' roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care that will be created by health care reform and to advance improvements in America's increasingly complex health system. At more than 3 million in number, nurses make up the single largest segment of the health care work force. They also spend the greatest amount of time in delivering patient care as a profession. Nurses therefore have valuable insights and unique abilities to contribute as partners with other health care professionals in improving the quality and safety of care as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted this year. Nurses should be fully engaged with other health professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning care in the United States. To ensure its members are well-prepared, the profession should institute residency training for nurses, increase the percentage of nurses who attain a bachelor's degree to 80 percent by 2020, and double the number who pursue doctorates. Furthermore, regulatory and institutional obstacles-including limits on nurses' scope of practice-should be removed so that the health system can reap the full benefit of nurses' training, skills, and knowledge in patient care. In this book, the Institute of Medicine makes recommendations for an action-oriented blueprint for the future of nursing.

Using an interactive nurse residency framework for the primary orientation method for new graduate, newly licensed nurses instead of no, or traditional orientation methods results in higher job satisfaction, reduced turnover, reduced medical errors, higher patient satisfaction, and better patient outcomes. Evidenced-based research demonstrates with support from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) that interactive new graduate nurse residency orientation is the most effective and preferred orientation method. This evidence-based proposal will provide a detailed description of this problem with a proposed solution and will include an implementation plan as well as an evaluation plan for the integration of nurse residency orientation.

In this comprehensive resource, nursing staff development expert Jim Hansen, MSN, RN-BC, provides instruction and tools to plan, justify, and structure a nurse residency program that develops and retains new nurses through their first year