DOI: 10.5176/2251-3833_GHC19.144
Authors: Dr. Paula J. Gray
Abstract: The Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) has used the Civilian Nurse Accelerated Training Program (CNATP) since 2001 to recruit and retain newly licensed registered nurses. Program assessment had been limited to the numbers of persons in the program. This project was undertaken to evaluate the CNATP in terms of 1) program success in attracting and retaining nurses; 2) competency of trainees using the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) tools to measure specific and overall competencies, job satisfaction, work stress, and patient safety; and 3) program strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of participants. CNATP trainees from 2013 to 2015 (N=28) and their supervisors (N=16) were asked to complete an investigatorconstructed survey that included the NCSBN tool to measure selfreport of competency, job satisfaction, work stress, and patient safety and identify program strengths and areas for improvement with a response rate of 53.58%. For the period under study, only one trainee had left the MEDCOM. Both trainees and current graduates scored comparably high with the NCSBN tool. The program was viewed by participants as providing opportunities for nursing professional development, practice-based learning, organizational enculturation as well as areas for improvement. CNATP is considered a valuable program for the recruitment and retention of newly licensed registered nurses. The program may be improved with modifications related to program design and development, leadership, and evaluation of quality outcomes measures.
Keywords: nurse recruitment, training and retention, transition to practice, program evaluation
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