Program offers bucks, benefits to new nurses

As the state and nation continue to deal with a shortage of nurses, Mary Washington Healthcare has sweetened the pot by offering new RNs a sign-on bonus as high as $7,500.

The financial incentive was added in December to keep MWHC competitive, said Tonja Thigpen, senior vice president and chief nursing officer.

"New grads have options and so we want them to pick us first," she said. "The newer generations, they see the ads and what's happening ... and (the bonus) was just another strategy to attract new grads."

The pandemic worsened shortages across the health-care field, but even without measuring the full impact of COVID-19, the situation looked dire. The Health Resources and Services Commission in 2022 projected a national shortage of 78,610 full-time equivalent RNs by 2025.

In response, health-care systems near and far started offering sign-on bonuses as another recruitment tool. ZipRecruiter , a job-posting site, shows 541 jobs within 50 miles of Fredericksburg that offer RNs $4,000 to $15,000 in incentives.

Some medical companies also offer additional funds for moving expenses. One Arlington-based hospital system advertises a $20,000 bonus for those interested in relocating to Delaware and 20% more in pay for RNs willing to work from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

In the midst of the money being offered, officials with MWHC's New Graduate RN Residency Program — and those enrolled in or graduated from it — agree the bonus is part of changing times. And nobody knows better than nurses about the constant need to evolve and keep up with medical advancements, said Sara Acors, MWHC's New Graduate Nurse program coordinator.

But she and others profess the Fredericksburg-based health-care system's offer goes beyond bucks, that it gives new nurses a chance to find their niche in the beginning of their medical career — and throughout it.

"When they feel supported and they feel like they belong, they want to grow in the organization," Acors said. "They don't want to leave."

'Some good numbers'

The New Graduate RN Residency Program isn't new to MWHC. More than 600 newly graduated RNs have been through the program since it was formalized in 2011 by Mary Jane Bowles, who retired in May.

MWHC tracks how many nurses remain in their jobs a year after they complete the program, and the retention rate is 85%, said Nancy Tighe, director of nursing professional practice.

"Those are some good numbers," she said.

Initially, MWHC held two sessions a year, but that's doubled to four. The program brings in more than 100 RNs annually who can specify if they'd like to work at Mary Washington Hospital, Stafford Hospital, the Emergency and Outpatient Center at Lee's Hill or Snowden at Fredericksburg.

Even with the program, vacancies remain. As of Friday, MWHC's website at mwhccareers.com showed 106 openings for nursing positions at its various locations.

As part of the residency program, new RNs have orientation in their selected areas for 12-16 weeks. They've already done clinical work and earned their licenses, but all involved realize hospital conditions aren't like classroom settings.

"It's a brand new world, going from school to actually doing the job," said Garrett John, who joined the NICU Department at Mary Washington Hospital in February 2023.

'Shared experience'

New RNs are paired "elbow to elbow," Acors said, with preceptors, other nurses who will provide feedback and teach hospital protocols.

Also during the orientation, the new grads attend five core classes that build on skills touched upon during their two- or four-year college programs. When those are completed, the program participants will continue to meet once a month through the rest of the yearlong program, both for support and to share information.

That's been crucial for John, a former teacher who changed careers after the pandemic. Acors said he was the first new grad in years to be assigned to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. There's little turnover in the department, which offers such specialized care, John was told it takes newcomers several years to feel like "you've got your feet under you."

Many skills he learned at Germanna Community College apply to adults, not the tiny babies in his care. Likewise, classes in the New Graduate RN Residency Program didn't really pertain to his department.

But the chance to be with people who were going through similar experiences was incredibly beneficial, he said.

"A lot of what I got out of the new grad program was getting to speak to other new grads and how their first, second, third month were going," John said. "The things they were struggling with, their successes, just being able to kind of have that shared experience was helpful."

Winning partnership

MWHC and Germanna work closely together, and during the pandemic, the two came up with the Earn While You Learn program to help address the nursing shortage.

Mary Washington Hospital needed bedside nurses, and Germanna nursing students needed clinical experience so the program solved both problems by putting students in hospital units alongside experienced nurses.

The program has been hailed as a success in national medical publications and piloted in other colleges for its "potential to transform Virginia's nursing pipeline," according to the On Board Virginia website .

MWHC's New Graduate RN Residency Program also works with four-year colleges. Madison Herndon earned her nursing degree from Longwood University in May and started work at Mary Washington Hospital within two months.

The 2020 graduate of Riverbend High School in Spotsylvania County was still in college when she did a 2.5-month internship at the hospital in the orthopedics department.

That's where she's currently assigned, working with the same preceptor as during her internship.

She's enjoyed the ability to "shadow" other units, especially those where she could be called to help such as general surgery and observation.

"It's definitely an experience," she said. "I personally enjoy being able to float around because every unit functions a little differently."

She and John, who were interviewed by The Free Lance–Star together, said they appreciate the support from other members of the New Graduate RN Residency Program as well as from preceptors, nurse educators, charge nurses and every other provider on their floors.

"I've never been scared to ask anybody any questions," Herndon said. "My unit manager says if you stop asking questions, you're not willing to learn."

'Always in demand'

Felicia Smith, a 38-year-old from Stafford County, agrees with the ongoing need to learn.

She realized after working in business management and administration that she wasn't fulfilled, and two experiences demonstrated that "nurses are incredible human beings," she said. She saw their kindness as her cousin was treated for cancer and experienced it herself, while being cared by "the kindest soul" she ever met after having a "horrific" Caesarean-section delivery.

Smith enrolled in Germanna's nursing program in January 2021, became a nursing assistant at the end of her first semester and got to "float" among various hospital units. She knew she wanted to work in critical care, and that's where she ended up.

After one year on the job, Smith said she continues to learn and grow, and like Herndon, expects that to continue, as well as the security that comes with working in the medical field.

"Nurses are always in demand and will always be needed by the community," she said.

Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425

Health, King George, features and is a local columnist