Accredited with distinction: our nurse residency program
By Sarah Towery MS, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC
Director of Nursing Education and Professional Development
Methodist Dallas Medical Center
One of the first things nursing school graduates do is search for a nurse residency. It’s a wise move. The graduates are full of new knowledge and excited about entering their profession, but they know that they need practical experience. In short, they need to practice nursing! And that’s what nurse residencies do — they transform graduate nurses into professional providers.
So the question for a nursing school graduate becomes, Where do I find the best program for me? My advice is to come to Methodist Dallas Medical Center. In 2021, our nurse residency program was designated a Practice Transition Accredited Program® (PTAP) by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. PTAP designation is recognized as the gold standard in the profession, so we are very proud of that. But we’re especially proud that we were accredited with distinction. The surveyors from ANCC were so impressed with our program that they asked us to come and speak about our journey to accreditation at a webinar hosted for hospitals striving to earn this coveted honor.
In addition, we are presenting a poster at the ANCC PTAP symposium in April, where we’ll talk about our success in retaining residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, when coronavirus cases were raging, our retention rate was 97 percent. That’s a remarkable achievement during a pandemic.
So what is so special about our nurse residency program? I believe it’s our professional practice model, which is essentially relationship-based care. Our whole nursing philosophy revolves around relationships: the nurse’s relationship to the patient, to their team members, and to themselves. This is what Methodist calls our Care Commitments. They are:
- Take care of patients
- Take care of each other
- Take care of ourselves
- Take care of Methodist
We really live by these values at Methodist Dallas. Co-workers are considerate and respectful. Our leaders are open and accessible. All in all, our culture is like a family, and we make new nurses feel like they belong.
If you are a nursing graduate, you want the program that can teach you the most. You can hardly do better than the learning environment at Methodist Dallas. We’re Magnet® designated for nursing excellence. We’re home to one of only three adult Level I Trauma Centers in Dallas County. We are a Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center by DNV-GL, a leading accreditation agency. We have highly renowned adult liver, kidney, and pancreas transplant programs. We’ve received a Grade A Hospital Safety Score from The Leapfrog Group®. We’ve also earned the Chest Pain – MI Registry™ Platinum Performance Achievement Award by the American College of Cardiology for excellence in heart attack care. These are just some of our awards.
Being exposed to this level of leading-edge medical care means that you’ll have plenty of opportunities for growth throughout the Methodist Health System. In fact, our residency program allows you to grow into the nursing specialty you’re most interested in. Say you’re leaning toward becoming a nurse specializing in medical-surgical, critical care, emergency care, labor and delivery, or operating room — our program will give you a jump start.
When it comes to the top things a nursing graduate looks for in a residency program — Will I learn what I need to know? Will the leadership support me? Will the pay be competitive? — Methodist Dallas checks all the boxes. Our nurse residency program is one of only 123 accredited programs in the United States, and according to the ANCC, it’s one of distinction. I invite you to come see for yourself.
If you’re looking for an organization that is committed to the highest standards of care and want to be part of a team of exceptional nurses, consider Methodist Health System. Visit us at Jobs.MethodistHealthSystem.org.
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