Memorial Health System celebrated the graduation of eleven nurse residents who completed the yearlong residency program on October 11th, 2024. The nurse residents presented their professional experiences to the clinical nurse managers, directors, senior directors, and professional development staff. As a result, exciting changes have been implemented in the organization to improve training processes and infection control practices. These innovative ideas that are backed by research and evidence-based practice are inspiring. The presentations showcase their dedication and passion for nursing advancement and innovation in the health system. 

Professional presentations from the October Cohort include:

“Nurse Residency for New Graduate LPNs”- Haley Windland, RN, and Abby Linton, RN. Both nurse residents have a prior background as LPNs prior to obtaining their RN. They found that the amount of support and hands-on clinical skills would have been beneficial to them sooner as LPNs. They collected data and interviewed new graduate LPNs in the health system and found the others had the same struggles and barriers as new graduate RNs. All the LPNs interviewed agree they would have benefited from the opportunity of being in a nurse residency program. The Director of Professional Development, Amy Hockenbrocht, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, has since investigated this proposal and is actively collaborating with nursing to implement LPNs into the program. The goal of this change will be to increase job satisfaction, decrease LPN turnover, and save the organization money. 

“Importance of Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) Training for Nurses”- Madison Cremeans, RN, Morgan Baer, RN, and Julia Church, RN. The HUCs on nursing units have various responsibilities such as entering physician orders into the EMR, arranging transport, registering patients, and setting up new charts. Due to staffing, not every unit will have a HUC available and therefore the nurses are responsible for taking over the HUC duties. The nurse residents collected data on several units and found there was a gap in knowledge and proposed every new hire nurse train with a HUC. Senior Director of Inpatient Services and Chief Nursing Officer Sarah Oldaker, MSN, RN, CENP, was present during the presentation. She approved the change and addition of HUC training for all new nurses in the initial onboarding process. 

“LPNs in Emergency Care”- Briah Kerns, RN, Caitlyn Pickens, RN, and Elizabeth Hensler, RN. Currently the LPNs in the Emergency Department function as ER techs and do not function to their fullest scope of practice. The nurse residents completed research comparing the health system to similar health systems that utilize LPNs to their fullest potential. They found these hospitals had a shorter length of stay, shorter door-to-doctor times, fewer patients that left before evaluation, and improved patient satisfaction. This change project will require ongoing research, planning, and education. 

“Prevention & Control of Infection: Pneumatic Tube (PT) Transport System”- Kathleen Sombol, BSN, RN, Sweet Lacbain, BSN, RN, and Virginia Olano, BSN, RN. This group found there was no specific label for each carrier to a specific destination, no data for routine disinfection on carrier/tubes, and staff not consistently utilizing foam for safe handling of specimens or medications. After collecting data on all the units, they made the following recommendations based on best practice: hand sanitizer & disinfecting wipes at each PTS station, routine hygienic maintenance of PT and entry racks, standard color coding and labeling for each PT, implementation of checklist for monitoring disinfection, and routine replacement of foam cushion. Regular tube disinfection and the addition of hand sanitizing stations were approved by the nursing administration. 

“Our recent Nurse Resident graduates took every opportunity to grow and learn throughout this first year. Through their change projects, they have already spearheaded implementing 3 different initiatives that will positively impact our organization. They are a talented group of nurses, and we’re excited to watch their continued development with our health system,” said Nurse Residency Educator Kayla Barnett, RN. 

Congratulations to Marietta Memorial Hospital on completing its fifth cohort of residents. We look forward to your continued partnership and support of future new graduate nurse hires.

Interested employers should contact nicole-weathers@uiowa.edu for more information or schedule a time to visit 1:1, to learn more.

IONRP Manager Nicole Weathers, MSN, RN, NPD-BC