May 14, 2024 – Clovis Community Medical Center partnered with the Emergency Nurses Association to launch an Emergency Nurse Residency Program in February of this year, and the first cohort of 12 nurses just finished their residencies.
The program at Clovis Community Medical Center is structured to help nursing school graduates who have already passed the National Council Licensure Exam (N-CLEX) and received their nursing license to integrate into the fast-paced Emergency Department.
The residency program helps build confidence in clinical practice, foster collaboration among nursing management and educators, and promotes active engagement in the program, through didactic learning strategies, to benefit each nurse’s ability to provide patient care.
Clinical nurse educator at Clovis Community and the Emergency Nurse Residency Program Director Jennifer Winters says that the residency program starts with 4 weeks of foundational lectures and informational sessions before they begin working with patients.
“You come out of nursing school with quite a bit of knowledge to begin with, but then there’s so much more, [like] learning how to manage your time and critical thinking,” Winters says, “The really nice thing with this program is that they spend some time doing critical thinking skills.”
“Approximately 73% of ED [Emergency Department] nurses viewed critical thinking as the No. 1 skill gap for a new ED nurse,” says a 2019 Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO).
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) has been implementing this Residency Program in hospitals across the country for at least two years, and the residency program at Clovis Community is only the fifth of its kind in California.
“It’s been a great experience to get to work in the ER and see how fast-paced it is and see what kind of good we can do,” says recent nursing school graduate, 22-year-old Carson Brizee, “For me, that’s what I got into nursing for.”
“If you like action, the unexpected, and making a positive impact in the lives of your patients and community, then a career in the emergency department might be for you,” says the Emergency Nurses Association website.
The ENA was established in 1970 with a mission to advance emergency nursing through values of collaboration, compassion, inclusion, excellence, lifelong learning, honesty and integrity, and a spirit of philanthropy.
“I know I’m going to make a difference in someone’s life,” says cohort member Sarah Osterhaus, I love that feeling, because I walk out of here knowing I did something great.”