Program Description

The Children’s National Hospital Transition to Practice Program (TPP), established in 2001, helps newly registered nurses transition into clinical practice. Over the past 25 years, this program has continued to evolve, adapting from merely teaching skills to addressing all aspects of a nurse's transition. The twelve-month program supports Nurse Residents (NR) with clinical staff guidance and aims to prepare them for pediatric care.

The program includes didactic and simulated learning combined with hands-on training in the clinical practice-based environment, facilitating the NR's transition from novice to competent nurse. Additionally, the program aims to create connections that foster a sense of community, support, well-being, belonging and professional development.

The Transition to Practice Program includes the following:

Human Resources Orientation

The Human Resources (HR) orientation is a requirement for all newly hired staff; additionally, all nursing staff hired must attend Central Nursing Orientation (CNO), and both must be completed within the first 30 days of hire. CNO serves as a foundation for all nursing staff to be oriented to nursing at Children's National. Content provided in CNO focuses on orientation to the organizational and nursing structure, nursing mission, vision, and core values, and includes didactic content with competency validation for essential nursing practice and skills (e.g., clinical assessments, medication calculation, POCT lab testing).

Practice-Based Orientation

Practice-Based orientation involves clinical and didactic sessions providing education specifically related to practice-based populations. As part of the practice-based orientation, the nurse resident is assigned to a preceptor(s). The preceptorship ranges from six weeks to 12 months, depending on the practice-based setting. The preceptorship period is designed to support the nurse resident's transition into practice and their ability to function independently as a competent pediatric nurse in their practice-based setting, as evidenced by the successful completion of their competency checklist and goal attainment based on their incremental, individualized biweekly goals.

Pediatric Nurse Residency Curriculum

Transition to Practice Program Goals

The TPP program goals align with the need to address the preparation-to-practice gap and to support NRs' successful transition into pediatric nursing within the first year of practice.

Clinical Comptency

Increase successful nurse resident clinical competency in pediatric nursing.

Confidence

Improve nurse resident confidence in pediatric nursing practice.

Professional Identity

Develop professional identity and professionalism.

Retention and Growth

Retain nurse residents and implement pathways for career advancement and growth.