The Tarleton State University Nursing department has received a $170,787 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to help registered nurses mentor training student nurses.

Tarleton’s Nursing program is looking to increase retention rates and number of registered nurses that work in area hospitals. The Nursing Mentorship Program allows the Department of Nursing to provide two five-week training sessions—the first session ending on June 30. A second training session at the Nursing Building began July 1. Tarleton assistant professors Dr. Mary Winton and Jean Montgomery are helping with training. Project director Dr. Elaine Evans said the program targeted 10 health-care agencies, providing training opportunities for nurses from Brownwood Regional Medical Center, Glen Rose Medical Center, Eastland Memorial Hospital, Hamilton General Hospital, Goodall-Witcher Hospital, Lake Granbury Medical Center, Palo Pinto General Hospital, Texas Health Resources–Cleburne, Texas Health Resources–Stephenville, and Weatherford Regional Medical Center.

Grant funds also provide hourly wages and reimburse travel for the RN attendees as well as pay the costs for the RNs to become nationally certified as preceptors. “Funds from the 18-month Texas Workforce Commission grant have helped develop the nursing mentorship program and are being used to strengthen the nursing preceptor and faculty roles through formalized training programs, and developed a team of faculty and health care facility representatives for the purpose of removing barriers, solving issues, and discovering ways to reward preceptors their contributions in order to sustain an effective preceptor/student/faculty preceptorship model,” said Evans.

“Thanks to this grant, Tarleton will be able to provide a training program for faculty new to the preceptor experience with the knowledge and skills to move from the traditional supervised practicum of up to 10 students in a clinical setting, to one of indirect faculty supervision,” said Evans. “A strong faculty-preceptor relationship translates into positive clinical experiences for our students.”

To learn more about the Department of Nursing at Tarleton, visit www.tarleton.edu/nursing.