A comprehensive pediatric rehabilitation nurse internship program.

Abstract

A comprehensive internship program was conceived at Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore to recruit and train new nursing employees in pediatric rehabilitation. The Pediatric Nurse Internship Program was designed to provide extensive theory relevant to pediatric rehabilitation nursing, as well as preceptor-based clinical experiences, to ease the transition of new nurses into the pediatric rehabilitation arena. The program incorporated a strong interdisciplinary team approach. The content areas included all the functional parameters of health as well as didactic information about the diagnoses specific to the pediatric population. The goal was to allow the intern to achieve clinical competence in pediatric rehabilitative nursing. Four nursing interns were enrolled in the 12-week program, which involved completing an educational project, taking a written examination, and demonstrating evidence of clinical competencies. On completion of the program, three interns transferred into full-time positions at the hospital and demonstrated an extremely high level of functioning. Partial support for the program was provided through grant money from the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission.