Nursing Residency Program at Brooks Rehabilitation

Learn about our 13-Week residency

The Brooks residency program is a 13-week program that consists of additional in-person classroom activities and simulation experiences.

What is the Brooks Rehabilitation Nursing Residency Program?

The Brooks residency program is a 13-week program that consists of additional in-person classroom activities and simulation experiences. Subject matter experts from across the Brooks system of care will discuss topics such as pain management, legal documentation, patient safety, wound care and more.

The residency also uses the sim lab for a variety of learning activities. The Sim Lab allows for hands-on practice with lifelike simulations scenarios with a high fidelity manikin, which provides realistic experience.

The residency is structured to strengthen skills learned throughout nursing school to help prepare the new graduate for real world nursing care. These experiences are practiced hands-on in a safe learning environment and are front-loaded so that the new graduate nurse can continue practicing skill reinforcement on the unit with their preceptor. Each resident is paired with trained, skilled nurses as their preceptors to ensure a thorough orientation. Along with their preceptor, new graduates also are supported by a mentor and peer mentor.

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What experiences are offered in this nursing residency?

Shadow Experiences

Nursing residents will have a variety of unique shadow experiences with Brooks team members. Shadow experiences are in addition to the general orientation, residency classes and unit orientation with their preceptor. The experiences include:

  • Wound care
  • Respiratory
  • Physical therapy (PT)
  • Occupational therapy (OT)
  • Speech therapy (SLP)
  • Dietary
  • Nursing Leadership
  • Infection Prevention
  • Home Care

Peer Mentor Program

The Brooks residency peer mentor program is designed to pair a new graduate with a nurse who completed the nursing residency program within the last few years. This is someone who can offer moral and emotional support who can relate to the experiences of the new graduate nurse.

The mentors are paired with the resident for 6 months to a year after their completion of their nursing residency. They meet regularly to provide additional support for the new graduate and participate in off-site activities for team building with other residents and mentors.

Follow-up Support

At the 6-month mark, an additional 8-hour class for residents is scheduled to follow up on progress, challenges, coping strategies and successes. They review skills and practices areas in which they feel they need additional support. Using the Sim Lab, they participate in scenarios of medically complex patients.

Mentors and Peer Mentors are available to help with the transition from student to professional nurse.

Graduation

At the end of the 13-week program residents will present a case study to nursing leadership and mentors.

Brooks leadership celebrates their accomplishments and host an annual Residency Graduation for all new graduate nurses.

What are the benefits of the Brooks Nursing Residency Program?

New graduate nurses who participate in the residency program gain additional skills and confidence to ensure their success as a new nurse.

Additionally Brooks provides tuition reimbursement for those who wish to continue their careers, clinical ladder to continue growth and development, preceptor courses to prepare nurses to orient new staff and mentorship classes for those who wish to mentor new graduate nurses.

Brooks benefits are competitive with regional organizations, provides retirement 403B matching and profit sharing.

What happens after nurses finish the residency program at Brooks?

Once Residents finish the program, they have also completed their orientation and are ready to care for patients on the unit they trained for the past 13 weeks.

They also continue to have support from mentors and peer mentors. They have a follow-up session at the 6-month mark.

What are the qualifications for participating in the nursing residency?

Qualifications include those who have successfully completed any accredited RN or LPN program and have less than 1 year of experience. Graduates can apply prior to successfully passing the NCLEX but cannot begin working as an RN or LPN prior to obtaining a license.

There are opportunities to work as a Nurse Tech while waiting for successful completion of the NCLEX.

How do I apply for the nursing residency program?

Learn more about the nursing residency program and apply here.

Those interested can also apply to the New Graduate Nurse (RN) Jobs postings through the careers webpage.

  • Podcast Ep. #17: Rehabilitation Nursing at Brooks

     

    On this episode we talk all about rehabilitation nursing! We are joined by our SVP of Nursing, Joanne Hoertz as well as physicians, therapists and nurses to help paint the picture on how Brooks Rehabilitation approaches patient care through nursing.

    Listen Online

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