CommonSpirit’s Nurse Residency Program Reaches 5,000

CommonSpirit Health's National Nurse Residency Program (NNRP) has reached a significant milestone, surpassing 5,000 nurses since its inception in 2023. Today, just over 5,000 nurses have participated in the one-year program, with nearly 2,500 having completed it and more than 2,000 currently active in the program.

For Jennifer Hubek, DNP, MS, RN, NPD-BC, system director of the national nurse residency program, the milestone was one that crept up on her.

“Our focus has been helping every CommonSpirit facility go-live with the program and their success has led to higher numbers of residents earlier than we expected,” she said. “Our numbers have steadily climbed, and it's just great for our facilities and our patients."

CommonSpirit’s national nurse residency program is designed to support new graduate nurses as they transition into professional practice. The program's growth reflects the system’s commitment to building a well-trained, mission-aligned nursing workforce.

"We need the nursing staff, and I'm really glad the program can help new graduate nurses join CommonSpirit," Hubek said. "Our goal is to keep a well-trained, competent supply of new graduate nurses who are aligned with the mission and values of CommonSpirit.”

For Molly Cole, an RN at St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in Bryan, Texas the nurse residency program gave her opportunities she wouldn’t have had outside the program.

“Being part of the NNRP was life-changing for me. Within two years of my nursing career, I have had opportunities I never thought I could achieve. I genuinely feel that I had the best preceptors and mentors I could ever ask for. The NNRP has made some of my dreams a reality,” she said.

Liz Burki, an RN at CHI Health St. Francis in Grand Island, Nebraska, says as a new nurse, the program was invaluable.

“The nurse residency program helped me build skills that reinforced what I was learning on the floor. It also allowed me to develop a support system that continues to guide me today. I will forever be thankful for a program that developed relationships and continues to guide me as a new nurse,” she said.  

The program’s retention rate is holding steady at 91% aggregate and 87.2% for those who have completed the program. CommonSpirit’s nurse residency completion retention rate matches the 87.1% benchmark set by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for programs accredited under its Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP) — a certification that recognizes evidence-based nurse residency programs.

CommonSpirit has been actively pursuing PTAP accreditation across its facilities, with 29 facilities receiving the designation to date.

The NNRP is currently active in 94 CommonSpirit facilities across the country, spanning every region except the Mountain Region, which is expected to go live in October. A group of critical access hospitals is also slated to join the program in early 2027, bringing the total number of participating facilities to approximately 130.

As she reflects on reaching the 5,000-nurse milestone, Hubek is quick to credit the people doing the work on the ground.

"I’m so thankful for the nurse leaders, site coordinators, educators, and preceptors  at the facilities, because they're the ones doing the day-to-day work of training and supporting these new graduate nurses," she said. “Our NNRP leadership team provides and oversees the program, but they do that work at the front line. It's their milestone."