The healthcare workforce is at a turning point, with hospitals and healthcare organizations seeking innovative strategies to stabilize their workforce, improve patient outcomes and manage costs. In a recent webinar, From Bedside to Bottom Line: Improve Safety and Reduce Labor Costs Through Nurse Residency Innovation, hosted by Premier Inc. and led by Dawna Cato, OpusVi Director of Nurse Residencies, industry leaders shared insights on workforce transformation. Experts from CommonSpirit Health, Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association and Mount Graham Regional Medical Center discussed how nurse residency programs (NRPs) improve retention and efficiency across different healthcare settings.

Learn more below or watch the full webinar to hear how nursing leaders are driving workforce retention, recruitment initiatives and residency programs in their organizations. 

1. Nurse Residency Programs Are a Proven Workforce Stabilization Strategy

With the average turnover cost of $56.3K per staff RN, a national vacancy rate of 9.9% and an 18.4% nurse turnover rate, transition-to-practice (TTP) programs are more critical than ever. Without structured support, new graduate nurses face significant challenges in adapting to complex care environments, leading to early career burnout and high attrition rates. 

As shared by Jennifer Hubek, MS, RN, NPD-BC, System Director, National Nurse Residency Program, CommonSpirit Health (CSH) reported baseline turnover as high as 40% for new graduates costing millions in replacement expenses. Implementing standardized TTP programs has helped  CSH to improve retention with some organizations achieving up to 90+% retention and saving millions in turnover-related costs. Beyond financial benefits, TTP plays a crucial role in building nurse confidence, ensuring safe patient care and alleviating strain on experienced staff who are often stretched thin due to workforce shortages.

“Our program has achieved an aggregate retention rate of 91%. Looking at our baseline, we initially lacked national data for new graduate nurse residents, but in fiscal year 2020, our turnover rate stood at 40%.” - Jennifer Hubek, MS, RN, NPD-BC, System Director, National Nurse Residency Program, CommonSpirit Health.

2. Addressing Workforce Gaps in Rural and Critical Access Hospitals

Rural and critical access hospitals face unique workforce challenges, often lacking structured training programs for new nurses, preceptors and leadership. Unlike larger hospitals which can dedicate resources to extensive training, many rural facilities rely on limited staff to fill multiple roles. In some cases, chief nursing officers are responsible for hands-on clinical training, highlighting a significant gap in workforce development.

To address these disparities, state leaders and AzHHA collaborated to secure legislative funding, enabling the implementation of structured nurse residency programs. This initiative allowed hospitals to invest in standardized education, mentorship and professional development, ensuring new nurses are adequately supported from day one.

"We realized the biggest challenge for rural hospitals was a lack of subject matter experts. Even if they had an LMS, they didn’t have trained faculty to teach the content. By partnering with OpusVi, we provided expert-led courses and standardized curriculum, increasing capacity across the state.” -  Dr. Karen Ofafa, Director of Transition to Practice Programs at AzHHA.

By partnering with OpusVi, AzHHA was able to incorporate a seamless transition-to-practice program with structured mentorship, professional development and nurse preceptorship programs. The result is a more confident and competent nursing workforce who can effectively manage patient care in rural and underserved areas, reducing turnover and improving overall healthcare outcomes.

3. Preceptor Training is Critical to NRP Success

Preceptor training is a crucial component of successful nurse residency programs, ensuring experienced nurses are equipped to mentor and support new graduates. In the past, many seasoned nurses were assigned preceptor roles without adequate preparation, leading to frustration and burnout.

"Before implementing structured preceptor training, many experienced nurses felt obligated to take on new grads without adequate preparation. Now, with training and professional development opportunities, they are actively choosing to become mentors, leading to improved morale and retention." - Dr. Karen Ofafa, Director of Transition to Practice Programs at AzHHA.

Providing structured preceptor training has resulted in a cultural shift within healthcare organizations. Instead of feeling burdened by additional responsibilities, experienced nurses now have the tools and confidence to guide new graduates effectively. This also strengthened retention, improved job satisfaction and fostered a more supportive learning environment for new nurses. 

With structured preceptor training, hospitals are building a sustainable workforce model prioritizing skill development, confidence-building and long-term retention. Reducing nurse burnout is another key benefit, as well-supported preceptors feel more prepared and less overwhelmed in their roles. By ensuring that experienced nurses receive proper training before mentoring new graduates, organizations can alleviate stress, improve engagement and create a more positive work environment.

4. The Financial Impact of Nurse Residency Programs

Nurse residency programs (NRP) are a great strategy for improving retention and saving costs. By reducing turnover, minimizing reliance on agency staff and decreasing overtime costs, structured NRPs help hospitals stabilize their workforce while achieving measurable cost savings.

At Mount Graham Regional Medical Center (MGRMC), the implementation of a structured nurse residency program resulted in a dramatic reduction in labor costs:

"In quarter three of 2024, January, we had an overtime staff cost of roughly $75,000 on our floor. The next month in February, we had $67,000, which was a savings of $8,000. We progressively went in this same trend until we brought on a second cohort, and then we tripled the amount we saved because we were no longer paying overtime and we were not employing travelers. So this was huge for us.” - Kristin Grimes, MSN, RN, CIC, Assistant Manager MedSurg and ICU at Mount Graham.

As a result of partnering with OpusVi, MGRMC successfully retained six new graduate nurses, reduced overtime expenses by 83% (from $2,370 to $400) and decreased travel costs by 53.7%.

The financial benefits extend beyond small hospitals. CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S., saw a net program benefit of millions by standardizing its residency program across multiple hospitals.

NRPs are a strategic investment for healthcare organizations. With fewer vacancies and a more stable workforce, organizations can reallocate resources to improving patient care, rather than covering frequent staffing shortages.

5. Data-Driven Insights for Workforce Retention and Early Intervention

The ability to track and analyze workforce data is crucial for improving nurse retention and providing timely support for new graduates. By leveraging data-driven insights, healthcare organizations can identify struggling nurses early, implement targeted interventions and reduce turnover.

"By using the OpusVi LMS platform, we’re able to see all of our evaluations in one place. We can track preceptor evaluations of residents each week and monitor their progress. This helps us discover challenges early so we can intervene before a nurse considers leaving the profession." -  Jennifer Hubek, MS, RN, NPD-BC, Division Director of Nurse Residency Programs at CommonSpirit Health.

Another major advantage of data-driven nurse retention strategies is the ability to redirect struggling nurses into roles where they can thrive, rather than losing them entirely:

"Sometimes we’ll have a resident in a high-acuity unit who is not being successful, but we want to retain them within our system. Because we have structured competency tracking, we can take those residents, move them to a lower-acuity area, crosswalk their competencies and help them transition successfully without starting over. It’s been a game-changer for retention.” - Jennifer Hubek, MS, RN, NPD-BC, Division Director of Nurse Residency Programs at CommonSpirit Health.

The ability to track individual progress, measure outcomes and intervene when necessary creates a stronger, more confident nursing workforce — one more likely to stay and grow within the organization.

Essential Insights

Nurse residency programs are more than just a tool for onboarding new nurses—they are a strategic investment to strengthen workforce stability, reduce costs and enhance patient care. By implementing structured transition-to-practice programs, hospitals can address workforce shortages, improve retention rates and build a pipeline of confident, competent nurses. As healthcare organizations continue to navigate staffing challenges, leveraging data-driven insights, preceptor training and standardized residency models will be essential in creating a sustainable workforce. 

The success stories shared speak for themselves — new nurses thriving, teams stabilizing and patient care improving — clear signs NRPs are shaping a stronger, more sustainable workforce.

Watch the full webinar recording here.