The VALOR Program: Preparing Nursing Students to Care for Our Veterans
The authors share the clinical and professional growth experiences of nursing students during the summer of 2013 in the VA Learning Opportunity Residency (VALOR) national program.
Students found that group discussions bonded them as a team and allowed them to share their feelings openly. One student found, “What really impacted me was just the amount of learning I received from my VALOR friends.” The group discussions and projects allow students who may typically work in isolation to come together as a team, providing a safe outlet for reflection and self-expression. Meeting daily with peers to share personal experiences increases team cohesion. Research suggests that students learn from their peers.10,11 Working closely with these students, the benefit of peer-to-peer learning was obvious. Students support and teach one another in a nonthreatening environment, which enhances their learning process.
End of the Summer Journey
For the students’ final journal entry, they are asked to identify their greatest fear from week 1 and describe how that has changed by week 10. Journal entries indicated that the students were no longer afraid of being a new nurse, and doctors were “not so scary anymore.” Students already know that nursing is not “going to be peachy,” but participating in the VALOR program allayed their worst fears. One student wrote, “When I had the experiences of doctors, dieticians, and physical therapists asking me questions about my patient and taking what I said seriously, it really boosted my confidence.”
Students seemed less nervous taking on the new graduate nurse role, because they practiced skills and experienced the real life of a nurse. The student who was worried about starting IVs stated, “It is second nature now.” The student who was worried about talking to doctors is now paging and communicating with them in teams. “I feel that I’m more likely to converse with other members of the health care team because of this experience,” one student reported. Another student experienced being afraid of practicing clinical skills because of her lack of experience. “I had put in only 3 IVs previously. I had never seen a cardiac catheterization,” she related. “I had never run an electrocardiography (EKG), and I had never had an opportunity to see many of the things I have seen. I was afraid of taking a full patient load, and I was apprehensive about simple things such as hanging IV medications. I was unsure of myself, and desperately needed practice. I lacked confidence, and needed to gain experience. Now, looking back, those things seem silly.”
Coming out of this program, one student suggested, “I have found that my expectations were blown away.” The 2013 cohort walked away from the summer portion of the program with ACLS training, EKG classes, interdisciplinary team experiences, FranklinCovey personal development seminars, and most of all, hands-on experience that provided these future nurses with confidence in their abilities. Participants felt that after this summer they would be “a step ahead” of their peers when they returned to school in the fall. One student related, after returning to school, “My professor asked me to help teach an EKG class since I was ACLS certified.”
Conclusion
The goal of sharing the VALOR program and students’ experiences at the Salem VAMC is to highlight how students grow clinically and professionally. The program is not a single-person endeavor. The chief nurse executive, managers, interdisciplinary health care professionals, and nursing preceptors support the program. Gaining stakeholder buy-in for the program results in positive experiences for both students and veterans.
Taking top-performing students and grouping them as a cohort creates a learning experience for students and benefits the facility. Students develop essential nursing skills, which assist their transition to the new graduate nurse role. In the words of one student, “As this experience comes to a close, I find myself increasingly apprehensive of finishing. The VALOR position has been like a dream come true for me. I have developed as a person and a future nurse.” As the new generation of nurses, the VALORs provide the institution with fresh eyes and new ideas on how to improve the system and to care for our nation’s veterans.
Author disclosures
The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the U.S. Government, or any of its agencies. This article may discuss unlabeled or investigational use of certain drugs. Please review the complete prescribing information for specific drugs or drug combinations—including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects—before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.
