New Graduate Nurse Residency: Taking Rehabilitation Nurses' Transition to Practice to a New Level

It began with a challenge from our Chief Nursing Officer. As a Magnet hospital, it was time for our nurse residency program to be recognized as an accredited program for new graduate nurses. This article shares our experience using the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses competency statements in a creative way when applying for recognition as the first American Nurses Credentialing Center-accredited specialty hospital nurse residency program. Although these competency statements were used initially to meet the requirements of the accreditation application process, they also led to the creation of a document that serves two purposes. First, it can be used to instruct new graduate nurses on the structure and processes of a nurse residency program in which competency statements are used to guide curriculum development. Second, it can be used to inform nurse residency program managers on new graduate nurses' progress throughout the nurse residency program by tracking competency completion. The end result of this accredited program is a new graduate nurse who understands not only what it means to be a nurse but also what it means to be a rehabilitation specialty nurse.