Over the past few years, many of us have been busy in developing and strengthening our healthcare organizations' nurse residency transition-to-practice programs. In fact, the literature is replete with articles on general nurse residencies for the newly licensed nurse (NLN) in the acute care areas of medical/surgical, emergency department, and even intensive care units. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine's "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health" report further galvanized the nurse professional development (NPD) practitioner to expand these general residency programs, and many of us began developing nurse residencies for more specific, highly specialized units (Institute of Medicine, 2011). As the NPD practitioner in the consultant role, we collaborated with the specialty educators, such as emergency department, intensive care unit, and pediatric educators, to strengthen these transition programs for both the NLN and the experienced nurse. For the centralized NPD practitioner, this work aligns with the Association for Nursing Professional Development's (ANPD) Scope and Standards of Practice model in that one of the NPD practitioner's roles is to work as a partner for practice transitions (Harper & Maloney, 2016).
In keeping with the ANPD Scope and Standards of Practice, it is vital for the NPD practitioner to use evidence to support development activities. I recently had difficulty, however, in trying to find enough evidence, such as research articles or program evaluation narratives, to assist me in collaborating with specialty educators to develop new specialty residencies. For instance, I had difficulty in finding ample articles to support our efforts in developing dialysis, endoscopy, post anesthesia care, and oncology nurse residencies. I know that there are many healthcare organizations that are providing these transition programs for the NLN and experienced nurses, so I was surprised in the fact that I had such difficulty in locating enough evidence to guide my practice.
It is important for the NPD practitioner to realize that dissemination is vital to support our NPD specialty. This is in keeping with the ANPD Scope and Standards of Practice for dissemination, which is mentioned in Standard 6 Evaluation and Standard 9 Evidence-Based Practice and Research (Harper & Maloney, 2016). Warren (2013) also discussed the need to disseminate in the ANPD's Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development (4th ed.). Although there are conference proceedings' abstracts that are available in the databases regarding highly specialized residencies, the abstracts do not share enough information to inform our practice. Conference posters and podium presentations can help disseminate, but those audiences are limited. It is important to also look to publishing the great work we do in developing highly specialized transition-to-practice programs.
The thought of disseminating one's work can be daunting. Although in-depth, rigorous research studies on nurse transition programs are the gold standards for providing evidence, narratives or program evaluations can also be helpful. Rather than the new NPD practitioner getting overwhelmed with the thought of writing about all aspects of their transition programs, the practitioner can select just one component of their specialty residency to disseminate information. For instance, perhaps your organization has had success in using a structured, unique, nurse resident behavioral interview process for home health residency candidates, which can be highlighted in a narrative, or you use a new blended approach to teach endoscopy residents. The focus of your manuscript does not have to be a broad overview of the entire specialty residency, it can be laser focused on one aspect that has been beneficial. In addition, articles on successes are always advantageous to read, but so are articles on failures or opportunities for improvement! We can all learn what not to do based on each other's experiences. However, we will not have that guidance unless our peers and colleagues disseminate their practices, outcomes, and findings with their specialty residencies.
The NPD practitioner does not work in a vacuum, so when deciding on disseminating work, one should look to work with a team. Brainstorm with your team on what aspects of your specialty residency you want to share. Although ANPD's annual conference, in July, would be a great place to present, you can also look for local conferences or specialty nursing conferences. If possible, review the previous year's conference topics and ask, "will our topic extend the knowledge in this area, or is this a topic my peers would be interested in?" Since we use evidence to support our work, you should also use evidence to support your abstract submissions to present at the conferences. If this is the first time the team is submitting an abstract or presenting, look for a mentor who can help. This is where our academic partners can assist us.
Publishing can be a scary endeavor for the NPD practitioner. Often, NPD practitioners feel that they have limited time available for writing, or the NPD practitioner does not know where to begin. Again, this is another time to form a team. It is manageable when the work can be split up. Once a topic is determined, it is time to select a journal for which to submit. Articles pertaining to residencies or transition programs are always of interest to JNPD. These topics can also be of interest to journals focused on continuing education. In addition, manuscripts about specialty residencies are of interest to nursing specialty journals. For instance, an article on how you developed a pediatric nurse residency could be submitted to the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, or an article on endoscopic nurse residencies can be submitted to the journal Gastroenterology Nursing. Once your team has determined which journal you would like to submit, review their Website and find the "Information for Authors" tab. The journal Web page will provide information on how to format your manuscript and how to submit it. If you are still unsure on how to put your article together, review the journal for articles that might be similar to yours. This may assist you in determining an outline, in understanding the preferred language or tone, and in developing a focus.
As NPD practitioners, our role and responsibilities are clearly related to the need to disseminate our work. There is, especially, a need to share what we have accomplished and the outcomes of our transition-to-practice programs when it comes to specialties such as dialysis, endoscopy, home health, oncology, or burn centers. Information abounds on residencies for medical/surgical, emergency departments, and intensive care units; however, we need that same level of dissemination for other highly specialized areas, too. Journal manuscript submissions, whether research studies, program evaluation, or narratives, as well as conference podium and poster presentations can help provide evidence for best practice in developing and strengthening our specialty transition-to-practice programs.
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