Nurse Residency Program
The Nurse Residency Program at University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center readies new nursing graduates for success in patient care jobs and leadership roles, facilitating their growth by building on the skills they obtained as nursing undergrads.
This comprehensive 12-month program is offered in collaboration with Vizient, the Maryland Nurse Residency Collaborative, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Built on an evidence-based curriculum developed by experts from across the country, the program focuses on three key areas: leadership, patient outcomes and professional roles.
Eligible participants must have less than one year's experience and must obtain a Maryland Board of Nursing (MBON) license number by the designated residency start date. (Note: Some cohorts offer an early start date to allow graduate nurses to join the program pre-licensed.)
Nurse Residency Program Objectives
Through a series of classroom and clinical experiences, our program helps nurses:
- Transition from academia (the classroom) to clinical practice
- Develop and use effective decision-making skills relative to clinical judgment and performance
- Practice collaboratively as members of an interprofessional health care team
- Provide clinical nursing leadership during the administration of safe, quality care
- Incorporate research- and evidence-based strategies into practice
- Strengthen their professional commitment to nursing
- Develop an individual career plan that promotes a lifelong commitment to professional nursing
Program Curriculum Benefits
In addition to promoting peer and professional socialization, our program offers:
- Seminars led by content experts
- Consistent, year-long support from UMCRMC leadership
- Formal orientation with a preceptor ranging from eight weeks to six months depending upon unit placement
In addition to guided clinical experience, each residency cohort will meet monthly for continuing education seminars covering topics ranging from critical thinking to communication as well as to complete an evidence-based practice project and develop a professional portfolio.
Nurse Residency Program Commitment
Program participants must:
- Attend all program-related meetings
- Agree to complete an evidence-based project/evidence-based quality improvement project
- Agree to complete all benchmarking surveys
Upon completion of the program, participants will be required to commit 18 months of full-time employment (0.9 FTE) to UM Charles Regional Medical Center. (NOTE: Failure to complete the program and meet the work commitment will result in repayment of program costs.)
Contact Us
If you have additional questions or need more information on the Nurse Residency Program, please contact Jenniffer Pickardt, nursing programs and initiatives coordinator, at 301-609-4630 or Jenniffer.Pickardt@umm.edu.