Registered nurses will now have a new opportunity to hone their skills with Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s (LVMC) recently announced Nurse Graduate Residency Program. The program launch comes at a time when nurses are critically needed across the country.
“We’ve had variations of this in the past, but this is the first time that we’re including a didactic portion and rotations with all departments, as well as offering a position that is specifically for new graduates,” said LVMC Nurse Educator Brianna Bonner, who is leading the program. “We’re also including things like a day with an emphasis of just solely starting IVs, because new nurses often don’t have the opportunity to focus on that longer in nursing school. We want to fully prepare them to hit the floor when they’re ready.”
The program is 12 months long, and chosen candidates will first complete up to eight weeks of orientation for basic nursing foundation, Bonner said, which includes time in the classroom. Then, candidates will spend time in departments including critical care, surgery, emergency, and labor and delivery, gaining key credentials such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification, Pediatric Advanced Life Support certification, learning how to administer the National Institute Stroke Scale, and completing the Neonatal Resuscitation Program.
Bonner hopes the program will draw in local nursing graduates.
“We’re hoping to get a lot of the local new grads that are graduating from Santa Barbara City College, Allan Hancock, [CSU] Channel Islands, and Cuesta,” Bonner said. “That’s probably our biggest base that we’ll get.”
The new residency program comes at the right time. According to a May 10 article published in NurseJournal, there’s a high demand for nurses right now.
“In 2019, it ranked as the third-most in-demand job of any profession in the United States, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down,” the article said. “As the baby-boom generation continues to age and overall population numbers increase, the demand for nurses continues to grow—especially in times of crisis like 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak. However, the gap between available jobs and people graduating nursing school continues to expand.”
NurseJournal used data from the Bureau of Health Workforce to compare the number of available nurses in each state to overall populations. Among U.S. states, California has the third lowest number of nurses per 1,000 population at 9.25. That trend holds locally.
“We are definitely in need of new nurses,” Bonner said. “We have several positions available here at Lompoc [Valley Medical Center] that we’re hoping to fill through this program, so it’s exciting. They’ll make lifelong careers out of it.”
LVMC will hold a free informational luncheon and tour for the program on June 29 at the Ocean’s Seven Café in the hospital. Recent nursing graduates interested in attending must send Bonner an RSVP by June 24 at bonnerb@lompocvmc.com.
“We encourage any prospective new graduates that are interested or thinking about applying here to come and attend,” Bonner said. “We’re going to let them know about our Nurse Residency Program. We also have scholarship opportunities if they want to continue on their education.”
This article appears in Jun 3-10, 2021.