Objective: The Niagara Health System opened a new healthcare facility in 2013 with expansion of the Mental Health and\nAddictions Program. As part of operational readiness planning, the decision was made to implement a 12-week residency\nprogram to support a cohort of ten new nursing staff in attaining the knowledge, confidence, and recovery attitudes required\nfor practice. This paper will detail the planning and implementation of a Mental Health Nursing Residency Program at the\nNiagara Health System. The outcomes of the residency program will be discussed as well as the challenges that will inform\nrecommendations for future programming. There is a paucity of literature related to mental health specific residency programs,\nand this paper will add to the work that has already been done in this specialty area of practice.\nMethods: Ten nurses new to mental health participated in the 12-week residency program. The program was evaluated using\npre and post measures of knowledge, confidence, and recovery attitudes at the beginning and end of the residency program.\nRetention rates were also examined for the cohort of new staff. Results were obtained from eight of the ten participants for data\nanalysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample, recovery attitudes, and retention. Knowledge and confidence\ndata were analyzed using paired t-tests.\nResults: Statistically significant improvements occurred in knowledge and confidence. Recovery attitudes also improved but\nretention of staff who participated in the residency program was not enhanced.\nConclusions: A residency program can be an effective strategy to ensure that nurses new to the field of mental health and\naddictions have the requisite competencies for practice.
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