New graduate orientation in the rural community hospital

Retention rates for 1-year new graduate nurses had fallen to 30% at the author's institution. Upon reviewing feedback, a lack of a new graduate orientation program was determined to be a significant factor. The challenge presented to staff development was to develop a program that would increase 1-year retention rates of new graduate nurses without incurring overtime costs or significant additional expenses. The result was a successful 8-week orientation program using multiple teaching methods. New graduates rated their own progress through the use of a self-assessment questionnaire. One-year retention rates for new graduate nurses increased to 77% after the program was implemented.