BIMC NURSING EDUCATION provides the very special Blue Sky program for newly graduated nurses. The goal of the Blue Sky initiative, which began in July 2007, is to improve support of new graduate nurses, enhance job satisfaction and autonomy, increase critical thinking skills and ultimately reduce new graduate turnover. The Blue Sky program was designed, based on feedback from Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing students as well as evidence from the literature, to address the fact that new graduate nurses, without adequate support, find it very stressful to transition from student to professional staff nurse.
The Blue Sky program during its first 3 years has helped 96% of 215 new graduate nurses make that difficult transition smoothly to their new role.
“The Blue Sky program was very helpful in helping a new grad like me assimilate into my new role as a nurse in my unit. It helped reinforce critical thinking skills through simulation exercises and case studies. It also served as an outlet that allowed us to talk about challenges and issues we may have been experiencing as a new employee and offered suggestions on how to deal better. I always felt positive after each class. Overall, a really great program! “
—Luisa Flores Dominguez, RN
“The Blue Sky program at Beth Israel Medical Center has been a very beneficial part of my transition from being a new graduate of Molloy College to taking my first steps as nurse at BI. The support group that was provided to all the novice RNs gave us confidence and reassurance needed to strive and to be strong in our profession. It also gave us an opportunity to speak about our experiences and vent our feelings, being certain that everything was kept confidential, yet still counting on Angela Babaev to give us advice and encouragement.”
—Irina Yushuvaeva, RN
“I graduated from Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing. For the past two years during my studies, I have been using the PRISM computer system, working with multiple interdisciplinary teams, and rotating to different units. I have also seen many compassionate, dedicated, professional, and caring nursing staff at Beth Israel Medical Center. I am fortunate to accept the employment as a new grad nurse. BIMC is a teaching hospital that offers a very extensive staff support through education. The hospital offers two months of orientation including classroom and unit training in order to prepare us for the challenges of critical thinking and time management skills. BIMC also offers tuition reimbursement, which will allow us to continue our education. I enjoy working with the school and the staff, patients, and multi-disciplined medical teams at BIMC. “