The Hanover and District Hospital is hailing the New Nursing Graduate Program as a great success.
Last year the hospital hired four new graduates.
Under the provincially funded program each of the graduates were paired up with a nurse mentor for six months.
Of the four nurse grads — three have secured permanent work with the hospital and the fourth will be eligible to apply for a position once she has completed her orientation.
Vice President of Patient Care Services Reta Sproule calls it a wonderful program that Hanover may try to participate in again.
She says it takes the financial burden off the hospital while training new grads to fill very important nursing positions.
Under the six month program — the province funded the full salaries of the nurse grads and provided the hospital with a 10 thousand dollar grant to top up the salaries of the nurse mentors.
The nurse graduates were able to hone their skills under the guidance of an experienced nurse providing them with a greater comfort level entering the field of nursing.
In return these same nurse graduates are now putting those skills to use by becoming permanent employees of the hospital.
Sproule says this goes a long way in addressing the Hospitals staffing challenges.