NEW YORK NURSE: September 2011
by Erin Silk
On June 6-7, more than 50 nursing faculty from throughout the state attended Faculty Camp 2011, “Beyond Survival: Nursing Education’s New Frontier,” at NYSNA headquarters in Latham. Attendees learned clinical strategies for use as adjunct educators, ways to decrease new nurse turnover and new methods to keep graduates engaged in practice.
Workshop presenters Lydia Zager, clinical professor for the University of South Carolina, College of Nursing, and Loretta Manning, president and co-founder of I CAN Publishing, Inc., returned to discuss the latest in clinical education strategies and explored the value of nurse residency programs in facilitating new graduates’ transition into practice.
With 27 percent of new nurses leaving the profession in their first year of practice, Zager and Manning discussed the negative implications turnover has on patient safety and healthcare outcomes. The pair outlined the stages of “reality shock” many new nurses experience: honeymoon (thrilled to be part of the profession), shock (moral outrage; feelings of failure) and recovery (increased ability to be objective), and explained how nurse residency programs can work to lessen stress, decrease medication errors and help nurses feel more connected to the job and their colleagues.
New this year was the option to attend one or both days of the popular workshop. Day one focused on adjunct faculty and ways to create a successful learning environment and help students make the clinical connection with standards of practice, patient safety and Joint Commission and National Council Licensure Examination standards. Day two explored the who, why, what and where of nurse residency programs and compared the strengths and challenges of implementing these partnerships.
Attendees found the workshop helpful in generating new ideas for the classroom, commenting that the presentation was “truly applicable to practice. Please set up more of these workshops – we need them for survival in the profession.” Another shared that the program “renewed and revived my excitement about clinical teaching!”
Next year’s Faculty Camp date is scheduled for August 6 and 7, 2012 at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, NY. Stephanie Stewart, PhD, MSN, RN, of Chamberlain College, will be the faculty presenter along with Tom Berthold, BS, RN, of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. They will present on the use of virtual worlds, such as “Second Life,” in nursing education. Stewart is the Dean at Chamberlain College responsible for innovation and the implementation of blended learning using web enhanced technology and Berthold is the coordinator for student services in the use of virtual nursing education technology.