Abstract
Background: There has been a lack of consistent high-quality residency and orientation programs for new graduate registered nurses (NGRNs) throughout the United States including Central Wisconsin.
Purpose: The practice gap has existed for many years and was recognized in the 1970’s when Kramer (1974) coined the phrase “reality shock”. The purpose of the mentoring program was to bridge the gap between the academic setting and the clinical setting for the NGRN in their first 90-days of practice.
Methods: The mentoring program was presented to prelicensure students during their final semester in nursing school. The mentoring program began when the prelicensure nursing student successfully passed the NCLEX-RN. Weekly individual virtual synchronous meetings were held with the participants during their first 90 days of practice as a new nurse. A Microsoft Form was created to evaluate the program which was sent out via email for completion.
Intervention: The intervention was a faculty facilitated mentoring program based on the Be1Suport1 program, ReSPeCT, representing the NGRN’s decision to (R)emain in the nursing profession, (S)elf-confidence, (P)roblem-solving, (C)ommunication, and (T)ransition to practice (Gularte-Rinaldo, et al.,2023). Virtual meetings were scheduled each week. Discussions included career development, communication, and safe practice. Spector (2015) found that mentoring topics such as safe practice and communication supported retention and satisfaction in the NGRN role.
Results: A survey gathering feedback on the mentoring program was provided at the end of the program. Individual mentoring meetings were preferred. The NGRNs felt the program was beneficial and that they were satisfied with the program.
Limitations: Limitations of the project included minimal participants. The NGRNs who signed up, tended to opt out after a week citing demands of their new jobs and here jobs impacting their ability to attend mentoring meetings.
Conclusions: The participants felt that the faculty facilitated mentoring program promoted their satisfaction in their new role and the development of a positive professional identity. While the aim of the project was to support NGRNs, the project also highlighted a need for the development of Ethical standards for onboarding of new nurses.
Sigma Membership
Alpha Omicron
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Mentoring, Coaching, Transition to Practice, Onboarding, Coaching
Recommended Citation
Dorau, Tina Michelle, "Faculty Facilitated New Graduate Nurse Mentoring Program" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 8.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/8
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Faculty Facilitated New Graduate Nurse Mentoring Program
Seattle, Washington, USA
Background: There has been a lack of consistent high-quality residency and orientation programs for new graduate registered nurses (NGRNs) throughout the United States including Central Wisconsin.
Purpose: The practice gap has existed for many years and was recognized in the 1970’s when Kramer (1974) coined the phrase “reality shock”. The purpose of the mentoring program was to bridge the gap between the academic setting and the clinical setting for the NGRN in their first 90-days of practice.
Methods: The mentoring program was presented to prelicensure students during their final semester in nursing school. The mentoring program began when the prelicensure nursing student successfully passed the NCLEX-RN. Weekly individual virtual synchronous meetings were held with the participants during their first 90 days of practice as a new nurse. A Microsoft Form was created to evaluate the program which was sent out via email for completion.
Intervention: The intervention was a faculty facilitated mentoring program based on the Be1Suport1 program, ReSPeCT, representing the NGRN’s decision to (R)emain in the nursing profession, (S)elf-confidence, (P)roblem-solving, (C)ommunication, and (T)ransition to practice (Gularte-Rinaldo, et al.,2023). Virtual meetings were scheduled each week. Discussions included career development, communication, and safe practice. Spector (2015) found that mentoring topics such as safe practice and communication supported retention and satisfaction in the NGRN role.
Results: A survey gathering feedback on the mentoring program was provided at the end of the program. Individual mentoring meetings were preferred. The NGRNs felt the program was beneficial and that they were satisfied with the program.
Limitations: Limitations of the project included minimal participants. The NGRNs who signed up, tended to opt out after a week citing demands of their new jobs and here jobs impacting their ability to attend mentoring meetings.
Conclusions: The participants felt that the faculty facilitated mentoring program promoted their satisfaction in their new role and the development of a positive professional identity. While the aim of the project was to support NGRNs, the project also highlighted a need for the development of Ethical standards for onboarding of new nurses.
Description
The innovative quality improvement program was a faculty facilitated new graduate RN mentoring program.