Each year, the IONRP team sits down together to review our progress on our annual goals and make plans for the year ahead. We have spent the last 12 months focusing on best serving our current customers in two areas. First, related to the customer experience and support, and second, our program offerings. Early 2023 was spent on creating a better customer experience by leveraging a new SharePoint site to organize the many resources organizations gain access to while using our residency curriculum. We also launched our monthly IONRP Insider email to enhance communication, share educational content and tips on using our resources most effectively, and foster community among our users. Mid-year, we focused on moving to the revised Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey 2023, reviewing and revising our Supporting Nurses Course, and developing our new IONRP Academy, launching in early 2024. I often get asked how we make plans for the new year, so as we finish up this process for 2023, I am sharing it with you. While we focus on developing the resources provided to organizations supporting new graduate nurses, the same process can be used in practically any setting. Here are five steps you can take to plan for the new year:
- Review Stakeholder Feedback – Review feedback from various stakeholders, including residents, learning champions, and nurse leaders. Get their perspective on what is working, where they see room for improvement, and what more they think you could do to support new graduates. Remember, you likely won’t be able to do everything they share, but reviewing this feedback will help you recognize trends and prioritize focus areas while giving them a voice in the process. This step helps with stakeholder engagement and buy-in.
- Conduct an Environmental Scan – Next up is an environmental scan. Whether you have taken the time to accredit your program or not, reviewing accreditation standards and using that as a guide for your improvements is helpful. Doing so allows you to develop a high-quality program and positions you to take a step toward accreditation in the future. It can also be beneficial to review literature and generational trends. You can even work with your human resources department to review pertinent recruitment data. This aims to examine internal and external influences impacting your residency program.
- Examine Outcome Data – What data have you collected that shows program outcomes? These should be based on your goals for the program and may include information related to surveys such as the Casey-Fink Graduate Nurse Experience Survey. It may also include data related to academic progression, clinical outcomes, organizational advancements resulting from professional experiences, turnover, and return on investment. The goal here is to gauge your progress toward achieving your key outcomes.
- Analyze Core Components – This includes your program leadership, curriculum content, schedule/structure, peer support, learning activities, unit mentorship, competency validation, and other professional development components. I recommend using the SOAR acronym to identify strengths, opportunities, and aspirations for each, and don’t forget my favorite, asking what can be removed, simplified, revised, or condensed. Analyzing these core components can help you prioritize critical areas you need to work on in the new year.
- Identify Goals – Once you have completed the previous four steps, you are ready to set your goals for the new year, considering what is most important and achievable with the time and resources available. Be sure to assign each to a quarter throughout the year and break each down into specific actions that will need to be taken to achieve that goal.
Conducting a year-end review takes time but is entirely worth it, giving you direction for the year ahead. As we look forward to approaching the upcoming year with intentionality and focus, we hope these steps inspire nurse leaders in effective planning and continuous improvement of nurse residency programs.
Nicole Weathers, MSN, RN, NPD-BC
Iowa Online Nurse Residency Program Manager