The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and Kaiser Permanente Southern California are partnering to bring the association’s fast-growing Emergency Nurse Residency Program to 15 of the health system’s emergency departments.
Introduced in April, ENRP offers a dynamic new approach for ED leaders looking to develop the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communications skills of a new graduate nurse or nurse transitioning into the emergency department before they practice independently.
The program provides didactic learning with dedicated time for nurses with educators and clinical preceptors to create a progressive, immersive experience that ultimately benefits a nurse’s ability to provide patient care.
After piloting the 18-week program at 10 hospitals in 2021, ENA has reached agreements with nearly 30 hospitals to bring ENRP into emergency departments across the country this year – with Kaiser Permanente Southern California representing the largest partnership to date.
“From the beginning, ENA recognized how valuable the Emergency Nurse Residency Program could be to hospitals looking at innovative ways to attract nurses to the emergency department and retain them – especially at a time when staffing concerns are so prevalent,” says ENA President Jennifer Schmitz, MSN, EMT-P, CEN, CPEN, CNML, FNP-C, NE-BC. “ENA is proud to welcome Kaiser Permanente Southern California to the growing list of partners who have invested in the future of emergency nursing by bringing ENRP to their emergency nurses today.”
Dr. Greg Kelman, regional medical director of operations at Kaiser Permanente Southern California – the nation’s largest not-for-profit integrated healthcare system – says the organization welcomes the opportunity to implement new ways of hiring and retaining emergency department nurses.
“The Emergency Nurse Residency Program is another step Kaiser Permanente is taking to ensure we can strengthen our nursing staffing levels at our emergency departments at a time when there’s an acute nursing shortage across the United States,” Kelman says. “We believe we are now in a stronger position to meet our patients’ needs.”
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