Vidant Bertie and Vidant Chowan Hospitals recently introduced 12-week Nurse Residency Programs. Four positions have now been filled – one at Bertie and three at Chowan.

The Nurse Residency Program pairs newly licensed nurses with a mentor, and the Resident shadows other providers in various departments throughout the hospitals.

The goal of the program is to give the Residents the opportunity to see and experience all the hands-on care areas of the hospitals so that they will have a better idea of which area that they would like to practice in. The chance to choose the department that the Resident would prefer to work in aids in employee retention. The nurses were guaranteed a job at the conclusion of the residency.

Jeff Sackrison, President of both Vidant Chowan and Vidant Bertie hospitals, stated, “Both Vidant Bertie and Vidant Chowan are delighted to have the four ladies who recently completed the Nurse Residency Program on board now as full-time employees. The Nurse Residency Program is a wonderful opportunity for nurses to have direct patient care delivery experience in a variety of hospital departments. It allows them to determine which area of patient care is the best fit for them. We believe that having the chance to choose the department that staff members want to work in correlates to employee retention. It’s a win-win!”

All four of the Nurse Residency Program participants are graduates of the College of the Albemarle (COA) Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) Program. Anne Meads is working in the Vidant Chowan Emergency Department, and lives in Elizabeth City. Lauren Schann, a resident of Sunbury, works in both the Emergency Department and the Inpatient Unit at Vidant Bertie. Hilary-Ann Fox is working in the ICU at Vidant Chowan, and is a resident of Nags Head. Debbie Christiansen resides in Weeksville, and works on the Inpatient Unit at Vidant Chowan.