What is the Nurse Residency Program?
The Nurse Residency Program (NRP) at Covenant Health is a program established to support new graduate nurses (RNs) through their first year of nursing. Geared towards nurses with less than one year of acute care experience, NRP is a year-long program where we meet as a group once a month for 12 months. Residency start dates are in February, July, and October. Your start date is determined by your graduation date and when you pass NCLEX.
In the Nurse Residency Program, we focus on confidence building, clinical decision making, critical thinking, and leadership… just to name a few things! You will be supported by your NRP Coordinator, Lauren Walker, facility educators, leadership teams, and fellow program members. This program marries the knowledge you gained in school with what you will be experiencing in the acute care setting.
Application Process
At Covenant Health, there is no additional application for the Nurse Residency Program. We want all of our newly graduated nurses to benefit from this learning opportunity.
Facilities & Units
Covenant Health consists of 10 hospitals, each with their own units and structure. It can be confusing to know what you want to apply for as a new nurse, so we break it down for you.
What You Can Expect
Wondering what you’ll learn in the Nurse Residency Program? Our structured program uses classroom seminars, case studies, group discussion, and precepted clinical practice to help you exceed.
Application Process
At Covenant Health, there is no additional application for the Nurse Residency Program! We automatically enroll every newly graduated RN we hire into our program because we’re committed to helping you successfully make the transition from an educational setting to a fast-paced hospital environment. All you need to do is apply online for job opening(s) that interest you!
The job title for a new graduate RN is Clinical Nurse I. However, you are welcome to apply to any Clinical Nurse position that is posted on our website.
While we hire new grads into many of our units, availability is limited on each unit and popular units tend to go quickly! In order to secure a position and have a better chance at your first choice in units, plan on beginning the application process 6 months before your graduation.
Once you accept a position with us, we’ll schedule you into the appropriate cohort of the nurse residency program. It’s that simple!
Facilities and Units
Every newly graduated nurse within the Covenant Health system is assigned to a specific facility and unit. Covenant Health has 9 acute-care hospitals and 1 behavioral health hospital that hire newly graduated nurses:
- Claiborne Medical Center: an 85-bed hospital in Claiborne County, and also includes the 100-bed Claiborne Health & Rehabilitation Center
- Cumberland Medical Center:a 189-bed hospital in Crossville
- Fort Loudoun Medical Center: a 50-bed hospital in Loudoun County
- Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center: a 541-bed hospital in Knoxville celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020
- LeConte Medical Center: a 79-bed hospital in Sevierville
- Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge: a 301-bed hospital in Oak Ridge
- Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System: a 167-bed hospital in Morristown
- Parkwest Medical Center: a 307-bed hospital in West Knoxville
- Peninsula Behavioral Health Hospital: an inpatient hospital in Louisville with 155 beds
- Roane Medical Center: a 54-bed hospital located in Harriman
Each of our facilities have different units and are known for different specialty areas of practice. For a listing of the units hiring nurses within Covenant Health facilities, click here.
What You Can Expect
When you are placed into Covenant Health’s Nurse Residency Program, you will be part of a CoHort. Within that CoHort will be your specific residency group. Your group and meeting place is determined by the facility you are hired into. All efforts are made to have your residency meetings at your home facility. Depending on the CoHort size, though, you may occasionally be grouped with other facilities.
Once you’re assigned a CoHort, you will attend nurse residency sessions monthly for the first year. These paid 4 hour sessions are a part of your work schedule.
Our program is structured to accommodate many different learning styles, using classroom learning seminars, case studies, small group discussions, and precepted clinical practice. You’ll get hands-on practice with skills such as Code Strokes, Code Blue’s, Rapid Responses, equipment, IV placement, and dressing changes. We use both real life and hypothetical scenarios to teach about patient experience, communication, and clinical decision making. We also have expert guests come teach about legality and law suits, service animals, and treatment of special populations.
With our program, you’ll receive needed support from hospital leaders, peers, and the Nurse Residency Program coordinator, Lauren Walker. We place special emphasis on competence and confidence in decision making, satisfaction and professional commitment, leadership and critical thinking skills, relationship building, efficiency and safety on the floor, and quality of care. We want to help develop you into a strong, professional nurse.
Upon successful completion of our Nurse Residency Program and one year of full-time employment, you’ll automatically receive a promotion and a raise!
Your NRP Coordinator
Hi everyone! I’m Lauren, the Nurse Residency Program Coordinator for Covenant Health. I have been a RN for 10 years, with most of my time spent in ER’s and Level 1 Trauma Centers. I have my BSN, but am currently in school to get my MSN with a concentration in Education. I will be with you for your first year of nursing with Covenant Health, so feel free to email me with any questions you have at lwalke21@covhlth.com. I would love to answer them all!