The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future will debut Your Future in Nursing, a training program that combines the interactivity of video computer gaming with real-life nursing scenarios.
The training program is developed with input and brainstorms from nurses early in their career, will help prepare future nurses for real-world work experiences with the goal of reducing entry-level nurse turnover. The new program will be revealed at the National Student Nurses’ Association 58th Annual Convention in Orlando. The Annual Convention theme is Experience the Magic of Nursing.
Diane Mancino, EdD, RN, CAE, executive director, National Student Nurses’ Association said that helping new RN graduates acclimate to the real world of healthcare delivery thereby reducing the turnover rate for entry-level nurses is one of the greatest challenges facing the nursing profession. Diane said that this new program will help develop new nurses’ communication skills. Diane also said that the training program will foster the transition from the nursing student to the staff nurse, improve interaction with peers and interdisciplinary staff, and increase job satisfaction.
The interactive training tool allows nurses to select a 3D nurse character and navigate through the rooms of a virtual hospital. Using this tool, nurses can interact with animated versions of the people who will shape their first year on the job with hospital administrators, nurse managers, doctors, other nurses, patients and their families. Nurses work at their own tempo to respond to different real-life nursing scenarios.
From 91 nurses who piloted the program, 96 percent would recommend this tool to another nurse graduate and nearly 90 percent indicated that they will be more confident approaching their first day of work as a result of playing Your Future in Nursing.
The new program builds on the success of the campaign’s Virtual Nurse Manager. Virtual Nurse Manager is an instructional software program launched to address the attrition rate of newly promoted nurse managers by addressing nurse retention rates among first-year nurses.
Andrea Higham, director, the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future, said that the first-year nurses are critical to the nursing profession and the health care system; and retaining this population is an integral part of the overall strategy of addressing the national nursing shortage.
Carolyn John is a Contributor to HealthTechZone. To read more of her articles, please columnist page.Edited by
Marisa Torrieri
