Caitlin Whyte (Host): This is St. Joseph's Health MedCast. I'm Caitlin Whyte. With me is Dr. Julie Moore, the Chief Nursing Officer at St. Joseph's Health. In order to combat a nationwide nursing shortage, St. Joseph's Health has revamped its nurse residency program. The Vizient Program is only offered by 11% of hospitals in the country, but it's been proven to improve nurse retention rates by 89%, significantly higher than the national average.

Dr. Moore is here to tell us all about it now Doctor, to start off, tell us a bit about your journey in nursing and what led you to your role as Chief Nursing Officer at St. Joseph's Health?

Dr. Julie Moore: Nursing is a second career for me. My father, unfortunately, was sick, was diagnosed, and very quickly passed away. But during his visit to the hospital is where I decided that's what I wanted to do. And it was really based on the care that he was receiving from a nurse. And so, I started my career as a bedside nurse, you know, like so many of us. And I just fell in love with the privilege of caring for patients, you know, and families during the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

And so, fortunately, I've had the opportunity to serve in a variety of leadership roles, from charge nurse to nurse manager, then director, and eventually into executive leadership. What has always guided me is just a passion for creating environments where nurses can thrive. I want them to feel valued, supported, empowered to deliver excellent care. And, you know, that one nurse changed the whole trajectory of my life. And I just hope that I can pay that forward and do the same. And so, the passion and commitment to the profession is what ultimately led me here to St. Joseph as their chief nursing officer.

Host: That is quite inspiring. Thank you for sharing. Now, what inspired St. Joseph's to adopt the Vizient Nurse Residency Program?

Dr. Julie Moore: Nursing is, you know, rewarding. It's incredibly rewarding, but it's also incredibly demanding. And especially for our new graduates, we recognize the importance of supporting nurses during their first year, which is so crucial, their first year of practice. And so, they come in so full of energy and so ready to go. And we wanted more than just an orientation. We wanted something structured, evidence-based, a nice transition program that would help the new nurses build some confidence, competencies, and just have a strong professional identity into the profession. And the Vizient Program offers just a proven framework with national best practices, strong outcomes, and the ability to build a community of support for our newest nurses.

Host: Well, to build off that just a bit, how does the Vizient Nurse Residency Program support new nurses during their transition into the practice?

Dr. Julie Moore: I love that question. Thank you. It really is designed to help that new nurse transition into clinical practice. And so, having a solid nurse residency program helps bridge that gap between the classroom and clinical practice. And the program, what it does is it protects time for just learning with structured mentorship, peer support, and some guided reflection. And it gives them a way to come together as a nice group of new nurses. It gives them the opportunity to develop clinical judgment in a safe space, leadership skills, resilience, while also navigating just those real world experiences at the bedside that they don't get during their nursing program. And they're not doing it alone. They're surrounded by a community of their colleagues, and that lifts them up and just helps them succeed very well.

Host: Well, what are some of the key components that make this program effective?

Dr. Julie Moore: A few stand out, I would say. The first year is very structured, and it's very critical that we have that in place. It recognizes that the professional growth takes time. And second, the curriculum, it's evidence-based, it focuses on clinical reasoning and leadership. And equally important there is that peer cohort model. New nurses move through the program together. And so, sharing challenges and celebrating milestones is very helpful for them so they know they're not in it alone and that others are experiencing this as well. They get strong preceptor and mentor involvement that ensures that they're having this great experience as they walk alongside them every step of the way.

 And then, behind the scenes, our Vizient Nurse Residency Program coordinator, she brings years of experience and innovation to the programs. We do fun things like escape rooms and learning and other things like that. And what we're trying to do here at St. Joseph is actually working towards our accreditation with distinction, which has already been infused into our curriculum, which again has that creative, interactive activities and games that just make learning more engaging and very memorable.

Host: So, how do you measure success in the program, both for the nurses and for the organization?

Dr. Julie Moore: Exactly. We look at several indicators. For the nurses, we track growth and confidence and competence through program evaluations, self-assessments. We also look closely at engagement and job satisfaction. For our organization and many healthcare organizations, retention's a key metric as well as quality outcomes and patient experience measures. But equally and powerful are the stories we hear from the nurses themselves, how supported they felt, how they shaped their decision to build their careers here at St. Joe's. We also complete a Casey-Fink survey, which provides us better data about resiliency, support, organizational commitment, role satisfaction, role confidence, along with other components to that.

But our Casey-Fink and progression surveys show that our nurse residents are meeting or exceeding benchmarks in the majority of all these areas. And so, the nurse residents are able to continue in the nurse residency program after graduation as well as facilitators. So when we have them come back do some clinical reflection time with the new students and they volunteer to come back to support, we know we've definitely made some progression and some progress with the program itself. They give back.

Host: Absolutely. Well, what changes have you seen in nurse confidence, competence, or retention since implementing the program?

Dr. Julie Moore: We have seen measurable improvements in new nurse confidence and clinical judgment. They're comfortable speaking up. They collaborate, they're leading at the bedside. Our retention rates for new graduates have improved, which tells us they're not only staying, but they're thriving.

And, you know, perhaps the most important, the feedback from units is that these nurses are coming in stronger, more engaged, better prepared. And since the program began in 2022, our retention rate for new graduate nurses have actually gone from 63% to 85%.

Host: Wow. Well, can you share a story or an example of a nurse who has thrived because of the residency program?

Dr. Julie Moore: Oh, yeah. You know, so many examples, but one that's really near and dear to my heart is a new grad who started her career on one of our very high acuity units. And like so many, she initially struggled with confidence, the intensity of the environment. But through the residency program, she found her voice, she leaned on her cohort. She grew just tremendously. And today, she's not only thriving clinically, but she's become a preceptor herself. She's mentoring the next generation of nurses, and it's just that full circle moment. That's exactly what this program's about.

Host: We love to hear it. Now, how does this program align with St. Joseph's broader mission and values?

Dr. Julie Moore: Our mission, you know, it's grounded in compassionate care, excellence, and to provide a service to our community. And the Vizient Nurse Residency Program really reflects those values by ensuring that our nurses feel supported, prepared, and connected. Not just with their patients, but to each other in the mission of St. Joe's. So, part of during the program, within the first year, they do go out to the community and they do some community advocacy work. And that's something new we've added to our program. And it just really shows our nurses that we're invested in our community. It's just who we are.

Host: And to wrap us up, what do you hope listeners, especially those new nurses, take away from this conversation?

Dr. Julie Moore: You know, I hope they feel heard. I want them to feel valued. I want them to know that their transition into practice matters deeply to us, and that they're not alone in this journey. Nursing, for so many of us, like myself for instance, it's a calling. And while the first year can be challenging, like I mentioned before, it can be incredibly rewarding. With the right support, they'll grow into confident, compassionate nurses, and we're here to walk the path with them.

Host: Of course. Well, thank you so much for the critical work you are doing to connect nurses with these residencies. That was Dr. Julie Moore. For more information, email nurseresidencyprogram@sjhsyr.org. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please share it on your social channels and check out the entire podcast library for more topics of interest to you. I am Caitlyn White, and this is St. Joseph's Health MedCast. Thanks for listening.