In the present health care climate, the critical nursing shortage is detrimentally affecting staffing ratios in hospitals throughout the State of California. The purpose of this newly developed nurse residency program is to have a positive affect on recruitment and retention of new graduate nurses. By providing the opportunity for nursing residents to gain "real world" experience in an acute care setting, this program supports the student nurses in their development as confident and competent practitioners. The result of this program will be manifested in increasing numbers of new graduate nurses remaining with the facilities that have residency programs. The program also leads to increased self-confidence, increased competence, and greater professional socialization, which will thereby, lead to increased quality of patient care, increased job satisfaction, decreased turnover rates, and decreased hospital costs for recruitment and retention.