PrepStep-RN
COPE Health Solutions’ PrepStep-RNSM program cultivates a pipeline of best-fit nursing candidates who are able to maintain their nursing knowledge, are familiar with the hospital culture and staff, and can be readily drawn upon to fill vacancies.
The current economic environment has shifted the conventional dynamics of the health care workforce landscape, creating a temporary surplus of new graduate Registered Nurses (RNs). RNs previously expected to retire have postponed retirement due to financial concerns, while those formerly in retirement have returned to the workforce. With nursing schools graduating a class of new RNs every six months, there are now large numbers of new graduate RNs who cannot find employment as a nurse.
Without some form of experiential education to keep them engaged within the health care field, there is a risk to the industry and individual hospitals that these new graduate nurses will leave health care, allow their licenses and skills to lapse, and add to the risk of a major health care talent crisis over the next decade.
The PrepStep-RN program is a structured 24-week internship in which participants are paired with experienced nurses on nursing units for a minimum of one 12-hour shift each week.
Components of PrepStep-RN include:
- Training on topics such as therapeutic communication, customer service and diversity in health care
- Comprehensive career skills workshops
- Experiential education through rotations in different clinical departments and participation in simulation lab activities, variable by PrepStep-RN facility
To learn more about PrepStep-RNSM or for more information about the Health Care Talent Innovations service line, please contact HCTI@copehealthsolutions.org.