OpusVi Selected by the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) to Supply Nurse Residency Platform to the Arizona Transition to Practice Program

PHOENIX, AZ, December 5, 2023 — OpusVi, a leading workforce development solutions provider backed by CommonSpirit Health, Providence Health and Premier Inc., that exclusively enables healthcare systems and organizations to upskill and retain top talent, today announced it will provide its Nurse Residency, Mentorship and Preceptorship program to Arizona nurses through the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) Arizona Transition to Practice Program for New Graduate Registered Nurses, supported by HB2691, passed in June 2022.

AzHHA and OpusVi are partnering to support a statewide 12-month Arizona Transition to Practice Program to support and develop new nurses, provide evidence-based professional development and address resilience and emergency preparedness. 

Nursing Retention - A State-Wide Challenge

Arizona is experiencing a severe nursing shortage that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. While it is important to increase the number of new nurses in the pipeline, it is also important to retain new nurses in their roles. New graduate nurse turnover was high before 2020 and only increased throughout the pandemic. In fact, according to recent reports by McKinsey and Company and the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, 22% of RNs and 20% of nurse leaders may leave their positions within the year as a result of their experiences during COVID-19.

On the national scale, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the Registered Nursing (RN) workforce is expected to see 203,200 openings each year through 2031 when nurse retirements and workforce exits are factored into the number of nurses needed in the U.S. 

The New Graduate Registered Nurse Transition to Practice Program 

A formal New Graduate Registered Nurse Transition to Practice Program provides another level of support for new nurses and has been shown to increase 1- and 2-year nurse retention rates. OpusVi’s Nurse Residency, Mentorship and Preceptorship program has been customized to provide training and mentorship to Arizona nurses in rural and underserved communities, particularly critical access, sole community and safety net hospitals to ensure the state’s most vulnerable populations receive access to high-quality healthcare. The program, initially developed with CommonSpirit Health, aims to increase RN retention by 20% or higher and save millions in hiring and retention costs for US healthcare systems.

OpusVi’s Nurse Residency, Mentorship and Preceptor Program employs best-practice strategies and resources to successfully transition a newly-licensed registered nurse (RN) into a professional role. This program is intended to not only improve one-year retention but to also bolster competence and confidence levels among recent nurse graduates by promoting independent practice and clarity in their role.

“Providing support for Arizona nurses has never been more imperative, and we’re proud to partner with OpusVi to leverage its Transition to Practice platform to provide competency-based education,” said Vicki Buchda MS, RN, NEA-BC, Senior Vice President of Care Improvement of AzHHA. “The time is now to put systems in place to address the nursing shortage and workforce burnout within our community hospitals across Arizona, and we’re thrilled this partnership, with the support of HB 2691 and funding from AHCCCS, will do just that.”

“At OpusVi, we’re proud to bring our Nurse Residency, Mentorship and Preceptor Program to the state of Arizona to support nurses in the field and continually educate them for better outcomes in the communities they serve,” says Dawna Cato, Director of Nurse Residency Programs at OpusVi. “We’re excited to not only support individual nurses but also support Arizona health leaders in the retention of nurses as they work to create a stronger and better-prepared workforce at scale.”

The Arizona Transition to Practice Program is Looking to Support New Graduate and Precepting Nurses Serving Rural and Underserved Communities

OpusVi’s Nurse Residency Program is delivered via self-directed learning modules, in-person focus groups, experiences on units throughout the healthcare system, interactive exercises and an online community platform. The curriculum is derived from identified core competencies from major stakeholders in the healthcare industry (Teamwork and Collaboration, Quality and Safety, Evidence-based practice and Patient-centered Care). Customized content is also built to align with the specific patient population served.

Designed to augment the Nurse Residency Program, OpusVi’s Preceptor Program prepares clinical nurses to function in the role of a nurse preceptor and is based on the work of Beth Ulrich, Mastering Precepting (2023). Preceptors are supported via four self-directed learning modules with two instructor-led training sessions. In addition, preceptors have access to an online community and monthly town halls as well as an optional professional development pathway that is included to prepare nurse preceptors for board certification in Nursing Professional Development.

Reporting, Analytics and Deep Insights Will Be Made Available Through OpusVi’s Proprietary Impact Dashboard to Systems for the First Time

OpusVi tracks, evaluates and delivers meaningful outcomes that impact a learner’s knowledge retention, willingness to actively engage and completion of learning objectives. Data collected throughout the program provide unique visibility into a new nurse’s journey, allowing each system to identify and analyze areas of opportunity for the first time. 

This rich data, including user progress, assignment completion, self-assessment, specific clinical outcomes and program assessment are centralized and available for program administrators and stakeholders through OpusVi’s proprietary Residency Impact Dashboard. This allows for systems and stakeholders to use data and remediate immediately when an NLRN is experiencing difficulty meeting any particular competence - in turn dramatically impacting retention of that nurse for organizations.

If you are interested in this program, for more information or to apply, please visit: https://www.azhha.org/transition_to_practice_program.