Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency Program

The year is like a fellowship – you will earn significant work experience, as well as clinical and professional training and skill development opportunities that are not typically available to someone starting out in an entry-level nursing position. The rigorous accreditation standards of Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education guide the development of the curriculum and the learning activities which are designed to help develop the essential competencies for a new graduate nurse. During our program, we provide opportunities to immerse the new graduate nurse into the role of a professional competent nurse utilizing various clinical rotations throughout the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System.

The goal of the Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency program is to recruit new graduate nurses seeking lifelong learning and the pursuit of nursing leadership while providing excellent and compassionate care to our nation’s heroes, our Veterans. We want to ensure supervised transition of the graduate nurses to autonomous and competent clinical practice within the Veteran-centric setting to care for our Veterans nationally.

Mission

To enhance the novice nurse’s professional practice through guided experiences and continuous development resultant in professional leadership ability and competent Veteran centered care provided at the point of care.

About the program

Our residency training consists of various precepted clinical rotations:

• Primary care
• Acute care
• Critical or specialty care
• Leadership

We utilize multimodal approaches to facilitate learning that will assist the residents from a novice nurse to professionally competent nurse.

Valuable benefits include

• Competitive pay-12-month stipend = $63,597
• 100% protected time (not part of staffing matrix on unit)
• No obligation commitment after residency program completed
• Insurance – multiple options are available for medical
• Sick and Annual Leave – Four hours of sick Leave and four hours of annual leave every two weeks, starting on day one.

Note: Nurse residents in the Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency program are considered health professions trainees and there is no commitment required for continued employment after the completion of the year-long program. After successful completion of the residency, we do hope that you will find your calling to care for Veterans within the VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System.

To apply

The application cycle for the 2023-2024 cohort is CLOSED. Please check back in March/April 2024 for next application cycle..

Applicant criteria

• Be a graduate of baccalaureate nursing program accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing
• Possess a current, full, active, and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a state, commonwealth or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, prior to the start of the PB-RNR program. (passed NCLEX approximately six weeks prior to the start of the residency program)
• Be a citizen of the United States
• Be serving in his or her first registered nurse role (Must not have had any paid RN work experience)
• Be a recent nursing graduate within the past 12 months, with a GPA 3.0 or greater
• COVID-19 vaccination (or approved exception) is a requirement for VA employment

Application packet requirements

More information

For more information, contact the Post-Baccalaureate Registered Nurse Residency  team at: VHAECHPBRNR@va.gov

Faisal Siddiqui, MD - Designated Education Officer

Allison E. Boyrer, EdD, MS, BSN, RN – Program Director

Linda M. Gonzalez, MLS, BSN, BA, RN – Program Coordinator

Audrey Montoya, BSN, RN, CMSRN – Program Staff