On May 23, nurses and nurse leaders gathered at locations throughout YNHHS for a Zoom call announcing that the health system’s Nurse Residency Program had earned Accreditation with Distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. YNHHS is the first Connecticut health system to earn ANCC Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP) certification.
YNHHS earns prestigious national accreditation for Nurse Residency Program
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) recently recognized Yale New Haven Health System’s Nurse Residency Program, which helps nursing school graduates transition into their roles as professional, acute-care nurses.
YNHHS earned Accreditation with Distinction – the highest level – from the ANCC’s Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP), which sets the global standard for nurse residency programs.
“This accreditation is the gold standard,” said Judith Hahn, RN, PhD, Yale New Haven Hospital executive director of Nursing Professional Practice. “In their extensive evaluation of our Nurse Residency Program, the ANCC held us to rigorous standards of excellence and outcome measures.”
In 2018, Yale New Haven Hospital’s Nurse Residency Program became the first in Connecticut to earn four-year ANCC PTAP accreditation; Greenwich Hospital’s program earned accreditation in 2019. YNHHS is the first Connecticut health system to earn PTAP accreditation. An ANCC representative made the announcement via a May 23 Zoom meeting attended by nurses and nursing leaders at all four hospitals.
There are 609 nurses across the five hospitals enrolled in the one-year Nurse Residency Program. Divided into groups called cohorts, participants meet monthly for sessions that include small-group discussions designed to promote critical thinking, mentorship and support; presentations by YNHHS experts on a variety of clinical topics; and work on evidence-based leadership projects.
The Nurse Residency Program aims to engage, educate and empower new nurses by helping them:
- Transition from nursing school to professional nursing practice
- Develop clinical skills and professional competencies
- Incorporate evidence-based research into clinical practice
- Establish a nursing career pathway
By building new nurses’ clinical and leadership skills, the program helps enhance patient outcomes. By fostering new nurses’ professional growth, the program helps the health system recruit and retain nurses, Beth Beckman, DNSc, YNHHS chief nurse executive, said at the May 23 announcement event.
“The Nurse Residency Program, and this prestigious accreditation, demonstrate our commitment and dedication to new graduate nurses,” she said. “They are our future.”
