A strong RN residency can help you launch your career with confidence. But how do you know which residency is right for you? Acute care RN Kevin shares why he decided to “put the rubber to the road” in our RN Residency program. “Having the transition to practice program was crucial in synthesizing everything that I learned in nursing school and putting it into physical practice,” says Kevin. Here are three ways the residency helped him most.

A strong sense of purpose and real community

Nurses are often drawn here because of our mission to serve all and ease patients’ way, especially the most vulnerable in our communities. In practice, that means caring for the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—so nurses focus not only on clinical needs, but also on compassionate, holistic support for every patient.

Kevin spent time working across different industries, from customer service to photography, before choosing a career in healthcare during the pandemic. “With previous jobs, I never really felt like I had a core community that I was participating in and that I was giving back to. During the pandemic, with everything that was going on in healthcare, I thought, ‘I want to try to help.’” He began his schooling and accepted a role at our mission-driven organization because it aligns so well with his personal values.

Kevin says living the Mission gives him a sense of purpose, which was incredibly motivating and rewarding during his first year as a new nurse. “Showing up to work every day, I get some sort of tangible feedback that what I’m doing makes a positive difference in someone’s life,” he says. Even when the work is physically and emotionally demanding, the impact he has makes it worth it.

Big organization, big opportunities

The scale of the Providence family of organizations, which includes Covenant Health, Providence Swedish, PacMed, and Kadlec, means more teams, more specialties, and more pathways to build a career over time.

For a new nurse, that means opportunities to train alongside expert nurses in a diverse array of specialties, connect with peers across facilities and explore different units or locations as your interests evolve. In short, the organization’s size gives you a wider range of options to grow your skills and shape your career.

The learning opportunities available through the RN Residency program and beyond have helped Kevin shape his “pretty specific five-year plan.” He says, “I want to devote at least one more year to being the best acute care RN I can be and get a neuroscience-specific certification.” Then, he hopes to transition to the neurocritical care unit. Kevin says, “I’ve just gotten sucked into the world of neurology and neuroscience. I think it might be a lifelong learning project for me, but getting an advanced practice degree within five years is my goal.”

Support with zero judgment; structure without intimidation

Kevin says he chose to do his residency here for both the culture and the structured, full-year program, which gave him ample time to become confident in his specialty. “When I graduated from nursing school, there was a huge amount of choice,” he says. “I had seven or eight offers on the table, three of which were day shift positions. And I was able to choose the unit that felt like the best fit, where I liked the managers the most.”

Right off the bat, Kevin felt at home. “Honestly, it was the best culture that I saw,” he says. “There was the least amount of talk of it being an intimidating work environment. And when I came to the unit, the first thing I noticed was that people were working so closely together as a team. There’s this back and forth where everybody is always looking to complement each other’s skills, and nobody is ever bothered by you asking a question, because they know that that’s something that you need or want clarification about, and people give help with zero ego and zero judgment. That’s invaluable in a team environment.”

The length of the residency program was a major plus for Kevin as well. “For me, having not worked extensively in healthcare before attending nursing school, it was invaluable to have 12 months total to help me just hit the on-ramp into my actual nursing career,” he says. “Not everybody was offering that. Providence’s robust program was a big draw for me.”

Launch your nursing career with us

If you’re a nursing student or new grad interested in a residency program with structured training over a 12-month period, supportive mentorship and a mission-driven workplace, explore new graduate RN residency opportunities. And don’t forget to create or update your Talent Network profile to stay up to date on opportunities, events, tips and advice from our recruiters.