Nursing Residency Program

Since 2003, the nurse residency program at The University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City has helped all of our new graduate nurses adapt to a fast-paced healthcare environment. The yearlong program focuses on 3 main components: leadership, quality outcomes and professional development.

As nurse residents, new graduates meet monthly in a large group and receive information to support and assist them throughout their first year as nurses. The program uses an interprofessional approach to bring experts to the nurse residents and provide them up-to-date, evidence-based practices to enhance their patient-centered care.

After the residents meet as a large group, they break into small groups according to their clinical placement. Each small group is assigned a facilitator who will provide unit education and focus on issues that may be occurring on the unit, with patient care or within the organization. The facilitator and residency coordinators are available to support nurse residents when they are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious or burned out at any time during the first year.

Nurses who participate in the nurse residency program report very high job satisfaction. As a result, retention rates for new graduates have been 95% or greater for the past 5 years.

Darby Baranick, RN, a graduate of our nurse residency program, offers advice to those who are considering a nursing residency with The University of Kansas Health System.

The nurse residency coordinators can be contacted at nurseresidency@kumc.edu.

The employee-based nurse residency program at The University of Kansas Health System is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

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