Maine Medical Center New Graduate Nurse Residency Program (NRP)
Maine Medical Center recognizes the increasing complexity of our evolving health care environment and the extreme challenges associated with entry into practice, particularly for new graduates in Nursing. In 2014, MMC adopted the University Health Systems Consortium/ American Association of Colleges of Nursing (UHC/AACN) (now Vizient /AACN) New Graduate Nurse Residency Program.
The NRP serves as an adjunct to the traditional clinical orientation experience of one-on-one with an RN preceptor with a year long series of monthly, four hour learning experiences to support new nurses as they transition into professional nursing practice.
The evidence-based curriculum is based on Patricia Benner’s, PhD, RN, novice to expert nursing model and backed by published research. The residency includes three primary areas of content:
- Patient safety
- Leadership
- Professional role
All MMC new nursing graduates with less than one year of experience in acute care and regardless of clinical setting are enrolled in the NRP. Time dedicated to NRP sessions is accommodated in the work schedule as paid time. From August of 2014 through March of 2020, we supported 628 new graduates through this program, taking a pause in March of 2020 due to COVID with reimplementation of our model in summer of 2021.
Operating Room (OR) Nurse Internship
The OR Nurse Internship Program is designed to meet the learning needs of the RN with a desire to practice in this specialty area by providing knowledge, skills, and clinical application at the beginning level of practice. Our interns have no prior work experience in the OR setting and MMC requests a verbal commitment of one year full time after internship is completed.
Internships are conducted two to three times a year for approximately six months in duration. Methods include both didactic and clinical components with the first four weeks in a classroom setting requiring a minimum test grade for continued employment.
For the clinical component, RN preceptors are assigned for each surgical specialty division with the first experience being an eight-week immersion followed by four-week experiences in subsequent specialties. During clinical rotations, weekly evaluations are conducted. Weekly meetings with all of the interns and the OR Nurse Educator are held to support each group and/or individually as needed. As the internship progresses to the five-month mark, the specialty assignment for employment is identified based on the needs of the OR.
For more information on how to apply, please contact Denise Metcalf BSN, RN, CNOR at 207-662-1701.