Ensuring the Future of Perianesthesia Staffing: A Perianesthesia Nurse Residency Program

Recruitment and retention of nurses into the perianesthesia environment remains an ongoing challenge in the face of a national nursing shortage. An insufficient supply of experienced critical care nurses exists to fulfill the staffing needs of perianesthesia departments. Literature describes the impact of successful orientation programs on retention and employee engagement. To compensate for the diminished candidate pool and to improve retention, a nurse residency program was created. The program develops non-critical care experienced nurses into postanesthesia care unit-specific critical care nurses over the course of 1 year. Eight months after implementation, the vacancy rate decreased to 0%. This article details the development and implementation of a perianesthesia nurse residency program.