HERMISTON, OR – On October 19, 2016, a cohort of seventeen new graduate registered nurses in the Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS) nurse residency program graduated – the largest cohort since the program's inception – and have begun working with an experienced nurse preceptor in the area they have chosen to specialize in. The residency program which began on August 29, 2016, is an intensive learning experience for new nursing graduates where they gain in-depth knowledge of GSHCS processes, policies, and patient care areas.
“This is truly exciting for us,” shared GSHCS VP of Nursing Theresa Brock. “We have an exceptional group of new graduate RNs who joined our program because they were either from our community, enjoyed their clinicals at Good Shepherd, were impressed by our onboarding process and even wanted to work in a rural community!” For many rural hospitals having 17 nurses join their ranks is nothing short of remarkable.
According to a recent article published in the Atlantic, The U.S. Is Running Out of Nurses, shares, though there has been a nursing shortage for quite some time it’s about to get even worse, due to our aging population and experienced nurses wanting to retire. The article closes with, “There will always be a need for nurses, the medical professionals that make otherwise harrowing experiences bearable for patients and their families.” Well stated.
GSHCS nurse residency program nurse educator, Phyllis Garcia, RN, believes that once this new cohort of nursing graduates have undergone a rigorous preceptorship which in some cases may take a year, depending on the department the RN chose to specialize in, will have more confidence and experience to take on their own patient care assignments. “We have two residents in the Family Birth Center, two in our Intensive Care Unit, six in our main patient care unit Medical-Surgical, two in Surgery, and five in Emergency Services,” shared Ms. Garcia, who continued, “I believe we extended an invitation to the right nurses to join our residency program and I feel confident that my profession is in good hands.”
Good Shepherd Health Care System’s next residency program will begin in August of 2017. Nurses expecting to graduate prior to August are encouraged to apply online at www.gshealth.org/jobs/ or call Human Resources at 541.667.3546 for more information.
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Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS) is a progressive non-profit community health system located in Hermiston, Oregon founded in 1954 by a group of well-minded community members wanting to make an impact on the community by providing health care services in the form of a fully functioning acute care hospital. Accredited by Det Norske Veritas, GSHCS has grown to provide inpatient care, emergency services, same-day surgery, health education classes and events, and a wide range of outpatient imaging and lab services. Additional services include primary and specialty care offered by the Good Shepherd Medical Group, Good Shepherd Clinic Pharmacy (with locations in Hermiston and Boardman), Home Health/Vange John Memorial Hospice, Home Medical Equipment retail outlet, and the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation
