Development of a Mentorship Program to Help Support and Retain New Nurses

Development of a Mentorship Program to Help Support and Retain New Nurses by Sherrie M. Jones MSN, Walden University, 2012 BSN, University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, 2007 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University August 2016 Abstract Many newly graduated registered nurses (NGRNs) leave the nursing profession within the first 2 years of employment in a rural hospital located in the Southwestern region of Oklahoma. A strategy to address this problem was to introduce a mentorship process that would help support the NGRNs as they transition into independent practice in the clinical setting. The goal of this project was to develop a mentorship program for future implementation. The Partners In Nursing (PIN) program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and developed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the American Nurses Association, was selected to support the NGRN transition from student nurse to practicing clinician with a goal to improve retention rates by 10 percent. Benner’s novice to expert framework and the Psychological Empowerment model were used in the development of activities contained within the mentorship program modules. Barrett’s theory of power helped to guide the development of resilience activities for the future participants. An evaluation plan was developed to monitor new nurse progress before and during the program using the Casey and Fink questionnaire to evaluate the needs and job performance of the participants. The target hospital National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) was analyzed to help justify the project abe used in future evaluations. Facilitating mentorship will result in social change through increased autonomy of the new professionals, along with improved retention which positively impacts patient outcomes. Social change will bridge the gap in retention and the cost of replacing a NGRN. Dissemination of this project is planned to occur both within the facilty and at the relevant national organizations supporting nurse educators.Many newly graduated registered nurses (NGRNs) leave the nursing profession within the first 2 years of employment in a rural hospital located in the Southwestern region of Oklahoma. A strategy to address this problem was to introduce a mentorship process that would help support the NGRNs as they transition into independent practice in the clinical setting. The goal of this project was to develop a mentorship program for future implementation. The Partners In Nursing (PIN) program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and developed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the American Nurses Association, was selected to support the NGRN transition from student nurse to practicing clinician with a goal to improve retention rates by 10 percent. Benner’s novice to expert framework and the Psychological Empowerment model were used in the development of activities contained within the mentorship program modules. Barrett’s theory of power helped to guide the development of resilience activities for the future participants. An evaluation plan was developed to monitor new nurse progress before and during the program using the Casey and Fink questionnaire to evaluate the needs and job performance of the participants. The target hospital National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) was analyzed to help justify the project abe used in future evaluations. Facilitating mentorship will result in social change through increased autonomy of the new professionals, along with improved retention which positively impacts patient outcomes. Social change will bridge the gap in retention and the cost of replacing a NGRN. Dissemination of this project is planned to occur both within the facilty and at the relevant national organizations supporting nurse educators. Development of a Mentorship Program To Help Support and Retain New Nurses by Sherrie M. Jones MSN, Walden University, 2012 BSN, University of Oklahoma College of Nursing, 2007 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University August 2016 Acknowledgments God is the gateway to happiness, and I will praise and honor him all the days of my life. God has truly been and always will be the footprints of my life. Acknowledgment also goes to my family, Michael, Monique, and Jamie, who have been the backbone of my being. They have been patience, loyal, and encouraging when I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Let us not forget my beloved son Omarr, who is remembered as being a good and loyal son. Omarr is visiting with the Lord in heaven. No matter what road I may travel, I know Omarr big beautiful eyes will always watch over me. I would also like to give thanks to my mother (Katherine) and grandmother (Helen) for holding the siblings together when no one else was willing to help raise the village. I would like to thank God for powerful and supportive mothers. I would like to thank both women for encouraging the enormous dream. Also, thanks go to Mary E. Mahoney, who proved that cultural diversity does make a different in the field of nursing.