PROVIDENCE – Registered nurses at The Miriam Hospital in Providence are working one-on-one with seniors at the University of Rhode Island’s College of Nursing, part of URI’s Academic Health Collaborative. This intense clinical experience, called a Dedication Education Unit, is a mentoring model developed in Australia to address nursing faculty shortages, Katherine Paquette, assistant clinical professor of nursing at URI, said in a URI statement.
“It has evolved into a need for clinical experiences that facilitate the transition into professional roles,” Paquette said of the program, which URI began offering in 2012. “It’s a model that has caught on because it is so successful in preparing students to practice.”
Within this Dedicated Education Unit, each registered nurse is paired with a student, working side-by-side for more than 100 hours during the student’s final semester. Each student reports to hospital duty in accord with his or her nurse-mentor’s schedule – weekends, nights or 12-hour shifts – and helps care for the nurse’s patients.
In a traditional clinical setting, one faculty member is paired with eight students, without a designated unit nurse. “You cannot be in all places at once and can’t assume the level of responsibility for patients that the staff is able to,” said Paquette. “When students are paired with staff nurses, they learn accountability for the management of multiple patients, which is a competency that is vital to success in practice.”
URI alumna Alison Rosener has been a preceptor for two years, participated in the program as a student and was then hired by the hospital. “I had an amazing experience, and I wanted to pay it back,” said Rosener, who is pursuing her doctorate of nursing practice at URI. “I really like putting nursing students in a real-life situation where you can learn critical thinking skills.”
Paquette said that Miriam has hired about two dozen students from the program.
Student Natalie Sidman was paired with Rosener, and the two recently worked a 16-hour shift. “I think it’s really important to experience that because I’m going to be doing these shifts as a [registered nurse]. To have the guidance of Ali has been amazing.”
Preceptor Joanne Daniels wanted to participate, because she did not have a similar opportunity while a nursing student in Massachusetts. “It was a huge gap. I was totally unprepared when I became a [registered nurse],” said Daniels, who has been a preceptor three times.
Student Amanda Millan worked with Daniels. “I was not confident going into the clinical setting. Joanne has helped me build my confidence and focus on critical thinking skills. She pushes me,” Millan said. “She gives me the power to make autonomous decisions.”
Not only do students develop confidence in themselves, learn to think critically and build time management skills, Paquette believes that preceptors’ enthusiasm for nursing and professional development are enhanced, as well. Competition is strong for the roughly 16-20 student assignments, and the College of Nursing hopes to expand the model so all seniors can participate.
Nancy Kirsch is a PBN contributing writer.
