I'm Katharine Bak, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer at the Brattleboro Retreat. Thank you for your interest in our Nurse Residency Program! As a newly graduated RN you will be welcomed and supported along the continuum of learning. You will be assigned a primary preceptor on your unit of hire and attend monthly classroom seminars over a period of 12 months. Our program will provide you with a variety of mental health and addiction patient care experiences that will afford you a foundation of knowledge, skills, and practical learning to support your future as a registered nurse. Please consider beginning your career here with us, and we’ll continue your professional journey together.
Useful Information About the Retreat's Nurse Residency Program
The Retreat's Nurse Residency Program is a yearlong program that builds on the competencies you will develop during your 12-week orientation. Each monthly seminar is tied to real-world, case-specific scenarios. As a new grad in your first job as an RN, you'll experience:
- Structured guidance from dedicated clinical instructors
- Membership in a safe, supportive cohort of nurse residents
- Professional growth through exercises in leadership, simulation, case review, and peer debriefing through self-reflective practices.
When you complete our program you will have the knowledge and competencies to:
- Utilize evidence-based decision making skills
- Advocate effectively for your patients, their families, and the organization
- Establish yourself as a valued member of the Retreat's clinical and leadership network
- Find and use your professional voice to guide critical conversations with members of the care team
- Make confident use of the policies, procedures, and standards of care that inform your specialty as a professional psychiatric nurse.
- March: Interviews are held prior to your upcoming graduation as a new nurse.
- April: Hiring decisions are made.
- August: New hires begin their 8-12 week orientation with a preceptor.
- September: Your first four-hour Nurse Residency class/seminar takes place. Classes take place once a month (paid time) for the next 11 months.
- At the End of 12 Months: Poster presentations and celebration of Residency graduation!
To be considered for our program you will need to meet the following criteria:
- BSN or ADN from an accredited nursing program
- Licensed as an RN in the state of Vermont at the start of the Nurse Residency Program
- Obtain your BSN within two years from your date of hire.
- Feel free to email Kayla Huesman, MHA, MSN, RN-BC, CARN, manager of Clinical Education at khuesman@brattlebororetreat.org
- Download a copy of our brochure.
Link to job application under construction.
