Faculty and internships. A match made in heaven?

An internship program was developed for new graduate nurses hired in the critical care area. Program goals included facilitating growth and development of 21 newly graduated BSN nurses to prepare them to care for a critically ill adult. The program design included the support and guidance of university faculty for a 3-month period. The program content included planned observational, didactic, and clinical precept experiences. Interns were evaluated according to clinical logs, didactic examinations, and preceptor assessments. At completion of the program, all interns were hired by the participating hospital. Two interns elected to take medical-surgical positions. The remaining interns accepted positions within the critical care and "step-down" areas.