The Vizient/AACN™ Nurse Residency Program at UChicago Medicine

Transitioning New Nurses into Practice

The Nurse Residency Program at UChicago Medicine is an accredited 12-month program designed to support new graduate nurses in the transition from professional student to professional nurse during the nurse’s first year of practice. The program is developed by  and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). 

Our program is based on Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert theory, which has new nurses entering their practice as an advanced beginner and progressing to a competent professional in the clinical environment.

Throughout the course of the program, our newest nurses learn skills that allow them to be successful in their new roles.

Program Objectives:

• Provide support with both mentors and peers  
• Structure educational experiences    
• Learn and network from content experts in the organization  
• Application of evidence-based research into your own practice  
• Promote professional development  
• Development of essential skills/core competency skills/power skills/interpersonal skills  
• Focus on wellbeing, resilience, and self-care  

Curriculum Content:

• Leadership

  •  Patient care delivery, resource management and delegation  
  • Conflict resolution  
  • Interprofessional communication  
  • Patient care coordination  

• Nursing Quality & Safety

  • Management of the changing patient condition  
  • Risk management  
  • Quality metrics and outcomes  
  • Medication safety  
  • Med Legal  
  • Infection control  
  • Patient education  

• Professional Role

  • Ethical decision-making  
  • End-of-life care  
  • Cultural competence in the nursing care environment  
  • Professional development  

• Scholarship for Nursing Practice

  • Nursing research  
  • Evidence-based practice  
  • Quality Improvement  
  • Outcomes evaluation  
  • Scholarly dissemination & conference preparation 

• Resident Wellbeing

  • Wellness  
  • Stress Management  
  • Mindfulness  
  • Resilience  
  • Reflection  
  • Peer to Peer Discussion  
  • Increased collaboration in Debriefings  

Program Eligibility:

• Newly graduated nurses are invited to apply to any staff nurse position
• Nurses who have worked for six months or less as a Licensed Registered Nurse are automatically enrolled into the Nurse Residency Program 
• View our current staff nurse position openings and apply online 
• You can search for and apply to open RN positions on the UChicago Medicine Careers & Employee Benefits page or by clicking the following link: The University of Chicago Medicine: Careers. Once hired at UCM, you are automatically enrolled into the NRP. 

For more information about the Nurse Residency Program, contact UCMC's Nurse Residency Program Team.