Graduate Nurse Fellowship Program

Westerly Hospital’s Graduate Nurse Fellowship program is a key organizational initiative to recruit and retain the best and brightest novice nurses.

• The program follows an innovative cohort model of orientation designed to provide experiential learning for the Fellowship Nurse through direct patient care and didactic opportunities.
• Specially trained staff RN preceptors guide the Fellowship Nurse through directed clinical care experience, collaborating with the interdisciplinary team to develop and implement the plan of care for the patients.
• The Fellowship Nurse gains valuable experience in critical thinking skills, patient assessment and management, delegation and time management.
• Didactic experience includes classroom education in-service taught by various content experts relating to patient care and opportunities to work side by side with nurses in specialty areas such as the Emergency Department, Intensive Care and Surgical Services.
• Following orientation, the Fellowship Nurse is ready to join the care team in one of our patient care units.
• Career opportunities include transition to a specialty unit and the opportunity to advance to leadership roles such as Preceptor, Charge Nurse and Clinical Coordinator.
• Career support includes educational assistance for professional conferences, seminars, certification and advanced degrees.
• The Fellowship Nurse is encouraged to participate in any of a number of committees, task forces, and teams working to improve practice and achieve optimal patient outcomes.
• Our Fellowship Nurses are fully supported by Unit Based Leaders and the Nursing Professional Development Department.