Sentara’s recently launched training program supports new nurses amid national shortage

Mica Agyao, 23, graduated with a nursing degree from Old Dominion University in 2024. Her education prepared her to pass the licensing exam and gave her key skills like measuring a person’s vital signs, she said.

But Agyao still had limited clinical experience. As part of the new Transition to Practice program at Sentara Health, Agyao receives the practice, training, and support to successfully care for patients in a real-world setting.

“This program allowed me to practice skills such as IV starts, peritoneal dialysis, tracheostomy care, and identifying cardiac arrhythmias, which helps me feel more comfortable performing these tasks in a clinical setting,” said Agyao, who is in the first group to participate in the new Transition to Practice Program.

“It also helped cultivate soft skills such as leadership and effective communication, and it focused on our personal well-being.”

“I feel like I would be way behind in my critical thinking and skills if I didn’t have this program,” added Agyao.

Nurse Mica Agyao is part of the new program's first cohort.

Supporting new nurses amid a national shortage

The 6-month program, which launched this fall, aims to prepare around 750 nurses a year, providing specialized skill training, mentoring from veteran nurses, and confidence-building exercises.

The goal is to help new nurses transition seamlessly into a range of positions across Sentara’s 12-hospital system, which spans Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

While Sentara had a previous program to support new nurses, this program offers training based on a nurse’s intended role. It has six specialized tracks: women’s health, critical care, emergency care, intermediate care, medical-surgical care, and operating room care.

New nurses are automatically enrolled in the program and paid to participate. They choose their track based on their interests.

“Sentara has focused intensely on how to support novice nurses,” said Susan Winslow, Sentara’s vice president of professional practice and clinical education. “We want our nurses to feel competent and safe and be able to practice in the way that they want to.”

The program’s specialized approach is designed to improve patient safety and other patient outcomes, nurse retention, and new nurse confidence amid a national nursing shortage, said Winslow.

Sentara’s nurse turnover rate was 12.5% last year, significantly lower than the national rate of about 22%, according to Winslow. Sentara’s goal is to further improve that rate.

“We’re holding on to our nurses better, and integral to that is supporting them through their transition from school to professional practice.”

Sentara nurses participate in a training exercise.

Connecting new nurses with mentors

As part of the program, new nurses from Sentara’s 12 hospitals attend in-person training and mentoring at simulation centers in Chesapeake and Charlottesville, Va.

Angela Sesin, a nursing professional development specialist, is one of the mentors in the program.

New nurses have a variety of educational backgrounds, with limited patient experience, said Sesin.

"When nurses come to the hospital, there’s still a lot for them to learn,” said Sesin. “This program was developed specifically to give them the nursing skills and confidence they need to be successful on the unit.”

The mentoring offered by experienced nurses such as Sesin is a key part of the program.

“I am very grateful for the mentors in the program for their guidance and wisdom,” said Agyao, who selected the medical-surgical track. “The journey as a new graduate nurse can be very scary, and Transition to Practice has provided me with mentors and peers to turn to when needed.”

Sentara nurses in the maternal health track practice childbirth skills.