Ambulatory Care Registered Nurse Residency White Paper

The Need for an Ambulatory Nurse Residency Program

Changes are needed to ensure an adequate and skilled ambulatory care nursing workforce. Preparing for new nursing clinical and leadership roles and the hiring of new graduates requires a focus on professionalizing orientation with a competency-based approach that demonstrates outcomes linked to professional practice. Nurse Residency programs are seen as the required bridge between education and practice and the transition into a new specialty.

The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) Ambulatory Care Registered Nurse Residency White Paper outlines the need for a formalized competency-based nurse residency program for all nurses new to ambulatory care practice. It outlines the need, discusses the national perspective, provides insight into both acute care and ambulatory care residency programs and explores a variety of solutions to ensure an ambulatory care workforce that is capable of leading change and advancing health.

Who will Benefit from Reading this White Paper?

This paper is written for all registered nurses practicing in an ambulatory environment: nursing staff, educators in service and academia, managers and administrators.

How Can You Use this White Paper?

The content in this white paper can be used to:  

  • Provide a deeper understanding of why ambulatory nurse leaders must institute more structure and rigor within our transition programs for any RN new to ambulatory practice. 
  • Understand differences between orientation and a residency program.
  • Understand the components of a comprehensive registered nurse residency program.
  • Identify resources to initiate internal processes to develop a program.
  • Reflect on how to bring more new graduates into ambulatory practice.

Download the Updated White Paper

2022 Task Force Review Provides Prologue to Enhance White Paper

The Ambulatory Care Registered Nurse Residency White Paper was reviewed by the RN Residency White Paper Review and Update Task Force in 2022. The Task Force determined that the content of the paper is still relevant and useful, and developed a prologue to enhance the utility of the paper. The prologue, inserted into the beginning of the paper, provides guidance to any professional looking to incorporate an ambulatory care nurse residency program into their facility.

The prologue confirms the significance of the Ambulatory Care Registered Nurse Residency White Paper, as well as highlights current dilemmas of nurses working to incorporate these programs. It offers advice on how to potentially obtain funding for start-up, and provides a network of facilities that have successfully created and sustained ambulatory care nursing residency programs and have generously made themselves available to be contacted with related questions and concerns.

Ambulatory nurse residency programs are the standard for nurses to be successful in the ever-critical setting of ambulatory care. This prologue provides a current avenue for facilities to build a successful and sustainable program.

Download the Updated White Paper