Nursing Transition to Practice Toolkit

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine's The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report recommended:  "State boards of nursing, accrediting bodies, the federal government, and health care organizations should take actions to support nurses’ completion of a transition-to-practice program (nurse residency) after they have completed a prelicensure or advanced practice degree program or when they are transitioning into new clinical practice areas. "

It has also been noted that a significant gap exists between nursing practice and education for practice.  One study suggested that 65-76% of inexperienced nurses did not meet the expectations for entry-level clinical judgement (Ulrich, et.al, 2010).

New Mexico hospitals have requested support for transition to practice on a statewide level.  NMHA has curated this best practices Toolkit for preceptor development, orientation, transition to practice, skill development, program return on investment, evaluation tools, and National Standards for Accreditation.  Our thanks to the many hospitals and the NM Center for Nursing Excellence for their contributions.