Nursing Residency Programs

Residency program at Holston Valley

This program helps new graduates successfully transition from nursing school to professional practice by providing an emotional support network and education to develop critical thinking skills and new-graduate competence.

To participate, the applicant must be a nurse graduate of an accredited school of nursing. The graduate residency program is a four-month orientation program that consists of unit orientation with a preceptor to include completion of the RN skills checklist, weekly educational transitional sessions, bi-weekly conferences with the clinical leader or clinical educator, weekly peer support group meetings, one-on-one mentors assigned, as requested, and a rotation through the Academy of Patient Safety, Holston Valley’s pilot program for the Safest Unit project.

All new graduate nurses at Holston Valley are required to participate in the residency program in order to provide them a smooth transition from student nurse to RN.

Residency program at Bristol Regional

This program helps new graduates successfully transition from nursing school to professional practice by providing an emotional support network and education to develop critical thinking skills and new-graduate competence.

Support and professional growth

Nursing Stepping Stones provides support, mentoring and education throughout a nurse’s first year of practice and is offered three times per month to accommodate new graduates’ schedules.

Building competency and connecting theory with practice

New graduates are placed in either the med-surg track or the critical care track. These 10-week programs include multiple evidence-based courses and hands-on practice in the skills lab that are designed to meet the educational needs of new graduates. Nurses attend classes twice a week and spend time with their preceptor each week applying the concepts taught in class to actual patient care.

The critical care track includes:

  • Basic EKG Interpretation
  • Hemodynamic Monitoring
  • Vasoactive Drugs
  • Intra-aortic Balloon Pump
  • ABG Interpretation
  • Ventilator Management
  • Ethical Issues in the ICU
  • Understanding IV Fluids
  • Emergency Management of the Unstable Patient
  • Understanding Lab Values
  • Legal Issues for Nursing Documentation
  • 12-Lead EKG Interpretation
  • System Approach to Assessment & Intervention
    (Cardiopulmonary, Neurological, GI/Cancer, Renal/Endocrine)
  • Survival Guide for New ICU Nurses

The med-surg track includes:

  • Basic EKG Interpretation
  • Physical Assessment
  • Vasoactive Drugs
  • Code Drugs/Lethal Arrhythmias
  • ABG Interpretation
  • Ventilator Management
  • Understanding IV Fluids
  • End-of-Life Care
  • Emergency Management of the Unstable Patient
  • Understanding Lab Values
  • Legal Issues for Nursing Documentation
  • 12-Lead EKG Interpretation
  • System Approach to Assessment & Intervention
    (Cardiopulmonary, Neurological, GI/Cancer, Renal/Endocrine)
  • Survival Guide for New Med/Surg Nurses

Download the Bristol Regional Nursing Annual Report