Transition to Practice - Part 3: Implementing an Ambulatory Care Registered Nurse Residency Program: RN Residency and Transition to Professional Practice Programs in Ambulatory Care - Challenges, Successes, and Recommendations

The importance of establishing transition to practice and nurse residency programs in all practice settings is clearly supported in the literature. Developing a standardized program ensures use of evidence-based practice materials avoiding wide variance among curriculums. Investing in time to develop academic practice partnerships will promote necessary changes in nursing education as the role of the RN evolves. Partnerships provide an avenue to develop a new workforce that is not only directed at inpatient care, but also encompasses specialty care including ambulatory practice. As healthcare delivery continues to expand into non-hospital settings, demand for nurses in outpatient care will continue to grow. It is important ambulatory and community-based care settings play an active role in developing their own RN workforce.