Vanderbilt University School of Nursing has received a $250,000 Innovation Grant from the Bedford Falls Foundation for a pilot program designed to equip nursing students and new registered nurses with tools that increase their job satisfaction so that they remain vitally needed members of the nursing workforce. The grant is the first awarded by the Bedford Falls Foundation.
“Nearly 33 percent of new nurses leave nursing within two years,” said Pamela R. Jeffries, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, FSSH, dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. “We feel strongly as educators that we need to further equip our students to cope with the challenges of this fulfilling but sometimes stressful profession. This generous gift from the Bedford Falls Foundation will allow the School of Nursing to provide our students—and other new nurses—with tools that will keep them renewed and rejuvenated throughout their nursing careers.”
The Bedford Falls Foundation, a private foundation established by Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman Bill Conway, Jr. and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway, focuses its philanthropy on nursing education. The mission of their nursing philanthropy is to remove barriers to a high-quality nursing education and address the critical nursing workforce shortage, which is compounded by nurses leaving the profession due to burnout or low job satisfaction.
“Nurses are the backbone of the health care system. When we invest in future nurses, we are not only addressing today’s workforce shortages, but building long-term retention within the nursing profession,” said Bill Conway. “Our partnership with Vanderbilt School of Nursing and the Caring Science initiative is an opportunity for nurses to integrate what they learn into not only caring for their patients, but also caring for themselves–which, I believe, is essential for those who serve and care for others.”
The grant will be used to implement a pilot Caring Science initiative at the school in conjunction with nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center. VUSN and VUMC will integrate Caring Science principles into both education and practice, with the intent to empower nurses with enhanced clinical reasoning, increased self-awareness and stronger emotional intelligence. These aspects have been found to improve nurse engagement, reduce turnover rates, improve patient care, enhance team functioning and improve job satisfaction.
Caring Science was developed by Jean Watson, PhD, FAAN. The theory uses 10 tools called Caritas Processes that support nurses and guide them in how to provide care for others. Watson’s Caritas Processes represent a holistic view of humanity and highlight the importance of human connection in interpersonal care. A recent small pilot project at the School of Nursing showed students had significant improvement in scores related to self-care, helping, trusting others and creation of caring environments when applying Caring Science methods.
While VUSN master of nursing degree students will learn to incorporate Caring Science principles in their practice while still in the classroom, VUMC will incorporate them in four nursing units through the medical center’s nurse residency program.
“New registered nurses at VUMC are supported by our nurse residency program. We believe that developing a Caring Science program at VUMC will foster self-awareness in our nurses, create a connection to core values, and permit them to focus on creating a caring environment,” said Karen Keady, PhD, RN, VUMC System Chief Nursing Officer. “Our aim is to expand the program across the clinical practice environment to improve job satisfaction for all nurses. Caring Science tools will help us reduce turnover by strengthening team dynamics, enhance patient care and boost nurse engagement.”
The pilot program seeks to transform nursing education and practice by developing practitioners who bring depth, awareness and emotional intelligence to the discipline while addressing the academic-to-practice gap and critical nursing retention challenges.
“We are so grateful to the Bedford Falls Foundation for supporting this innovative program designed to support nurses and stem the flow of nurses leaving the workforce,” Jeffries said. “This pilot program will showcase the potential of academic-practice partnerships to promote nursing engagement, satisfaction and retention as a model that can be replicated to advance the future of nursing and health care in the United States.”
Caring Science has recently been named an organizing foundation that can be used to integrate the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s The Essentials: Core Competency for Professional Nursing Education.
PHOTO, TOP:
Vanderbilt School of Nursing Assistant Professor Gloria Littlemouse, PhD, leads VUSN’s Caring Science program for Master of Nursing students. Current participants, left: Caroline Loving, Adam Voydik, Lucille Jaloszynski, Addison Williams, Littlemouse, Giselle Trinidad, Marina Makhaly, Autumn Lucas and Kyle Keliipuleole. Credit: Caroline Taylor, VUSN