Preparing New Graduates for Interprofessional Teamwork: Effectiveness of a Nurse Residency Program

The purpose of this project was to determine whether a nurse residency program was effective in improving satisfaction with new graduates' performance competence in interprofessional collaboration. This was a cross-sectional survey design, comparing the satisfaction ratings of nurse leaders and staff nurses at a mid-western academic medical center to national benchmark data obtained from the 2007 Nursing Practice Readiness Tool. The sample consisted of 149 nurses who worked in inpatient units where new graduates practice. Thirty-five had 1 year or less of experience in nursing and 114 had at least 2 years of experience. Managers, experienced nurses, and new graduate nurses varied in their satisfaction ratings regarding interprofessional collaboration. Satisfaction of new graduates' competencies by nurse managers and staff nurses were rated higher in each category, compared with the national study, with 63% of nurse leaders satisfied with new graduates' ability to communicate with the interprofessional team, compared with the national average of 38%. Participants reported 56% satisfaction in the ability to work as a team, compared with 37% reported in the national study.