Growing Practice Specialists in Mental Health: Addressing Stigma and Recruitment with a Nursing Residency Program

Despite the growing prevalence and healthcare needs of people living with mental illness, the stigma associated with mental health nursing continues to present challenges to recruiting new nurses to this sector. As a key recruitment strategy, five mental health hospitals and three educational institutions collaborated to develop and pilot an innovative nursing residency program. The purpose of the Mental Health Nursing Residency Program was to dispel myths associated with practising in the sector by promoting mental health as a vibrant specialty and offering a unique opportunity to gain specialized competencies. The program curriculum combines protected clinical time, collaborative learning and mentored clinical practice. Evaluation results show significant benefits to clinical practice and an improved ability to recruit and retain nurses. Nursing leadership was crucial at multiple levels for success. In this paper, we describe our journey in designing and implementing a nursing residency program for other nurse leaders interested in providing a similar program to build on our experience.