Westminster, Md. – In an effort to maintain a high retention rate for nurses, Carroll County General Hospital has designed a mentoring program for new nursing hires. The purpose of the program is to acclimate newly-hired experienced nurses to the organization and improve the transition of nursing graduates to professional nursing practice. Nurse mentors will provide instruction, guidance and support for up to a year.

Under the program, mentors will coordinate orientation, perform daily and weekly assessments, work collaboratively with novice nurses on patient assignments, and act as a facilitator between the new hire and management in dealing with issues and concerns. Also, nurse mentors will hold social events to help new nursing hires adapt to the nursing team. Fourteen nursing graduates will enter the mentor program next month.

The mentoring program was adopted from recommendations by the Nursing Executive Center at the Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., and the hospital tailored its program to specific service lines, such as obstetrics/pediatrics, medical/oncology, critical care, surgical services and emergency medicine.

"Many times, graduates who enter the nursing field are disillusioned by what they find," said Leslie Simmons, R.N., B.S.N., M.A., vice president of patient care services at Carroll County General Hospital. "Having a nurse mentor take an active role in the development of a new hire can have a positive effect on his or her performance by helping them feel confident in their skills. Also, mentoring contributes to the future growth of the nursing profession by improving job satisfaction."

Typically, new nurses don't receive the needed support and attention after their orientation period as they move from student to staff nurse, Simmons said. Thus, the aim of mentoring is to establish a one-to-one, nurturing relationship between the mentor and new nursing hire that enhances the personal and professional life of the mentee.

Simmons said that studies have shown that mentoring programs can reduce the turnover rate of new nursing hires by 10 percent in one year.

Carroll County General Hospital has managed a lower vacancy rate for nurses than the state’s 15 percent average due to initiatives such as, the addition of a transport team, an IV therapy team, a Clinical Ladder program that provides incentive bonuses for additional certification, and flexible scheduling alternatives. At a time when many hospitals are facing nursing shortages, Simmons said the mentoring program serves as a valuable recruiting tool.

“It shows that we are willing to spend significant dollars on a program designed specifically for new hires,” she said. "Ultimately the mentoring program is about taking care of the people we have.”

Founded in 1961, Carroll County General Hospital is a nonprofit, acute care facility offering a continuum of services, including comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and community programs.

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