Nurse Training Tool Helps Prepare and Retain New Nurses

A new virtual interactive nurse-training program combines the interactivity of video computer gaming with real-life nursing scenarios.

The "Your Future in Nursing” training program was developed with input and insights from nurses early in their career and is intended to help prepare future nurses for real-world work experiences, with the goal of reducing entry-level nurse turnover. The interactive training tool allows nurses to select a three-dimensional (3D) nurse avatar and navigate through the rooms of a virtual hospital. As they tour the hospital, nurses interact with animated versions of the people who will shape their first year on the job - hospital administrators, nurse managers, doctors, other nurses, patients, and their families. Nurses work at their own pace to respond to different, real-life nursing scenarios they would normally encounter throughout the hospital. In addition to getting immediate feedback on each answer, sections close with a video message from an experienced nurse mentor who provides perspective and coaching on the new nurse's performance.

The new program builds on the success of Virtual Nurse Manager – an instructional software program launched in 2006 to address the attrition rate of newly promoted nurse managers by addressing nurse retention rates among first-year nurses. "Your Future in Nursing” was unveiled at the National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA) annual convention, which took place during April 2010, in Orlando (FL, USA). The software can be downloaded or ordered in a CD-ROM by nursing schools, students, nurses, and health care facilities nationwide at no cost, as part of ongoing efforts by the Johnson & Johnson (J&J; New Brunswick, NJ, USA) Campaign for Nursing's Future, a public-awareness campaign designed to enhance the image of the nursing profession, recruit new nurses and nurse faculty, as well as help retain nurses currently in the profession.

"First-year nurses are vital to both the nursing profession and the health care system, and retaining this population is an integral part of the overall strategy of addressing the national nursing shortage,” said Andrea Higham, director of the J&J Campaign for Nursing's Future. "This learning tool represents a novel approach to education and development in health care, and our hope is that the software will engage and prepare future nurses for the real experience they'll face in today's nursing environment.”

According to a July 2007 healthcare industry report, the average turnover rate in first-year nurses is more than 27%.

Related Links:
Johnson & Johnson
Campaign for Nursing's Future