Lafayette hospital to begin nurse residency program

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LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Lafayette General Medical Center will begin the state's first nurse residency program in the spring.

Lafayette General Health spokeswoman Becki Benoit tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1W1D03e ) that the yearlong residency program will begin in March to allow time for new nursing graduates to take their state licensing exams.

"When you get in practice, especially today, there's a huge gap because new nurses are not used to the higher acuity patients that we see," Benoit said. "Our acuity is so high with patients presenting with multisystem failures. As new students come out, we have to figure out a way to close that gap and build a library of experience."

The nurse residents will be assigned two nurse professionals who will provide support during their first year of nursing — a preceptor and a mentor.

Typically, a preceptor is assigned to new nurses for 12 weeks, which includes an orientation to the hospital's policies and procedures. Now, the preceptor will provide guidance for a full year as part of the program. In addition, the nurse residents' performance will be tracked for the year after they complete the residency.

A second group of new nurses will be admitted to the program following spring graduation in May 2016.

The residency program will launch at Lafayette General Medical Center and Lafayette General Southwest — the former Regional Medical Center of Acadiana, which Lafayette General Health officially takes over in November. After its residency program is accredited, it plans to expand to other hospitals in its network.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com