Carol Hein

By supporting them better in their transition from student to professional, the residency program establishes a friendlier climate for new nurses so that they fit in sooner and stay longer, said Carol Hein, medical surgical nurse specialist at Community Memorial, which requires its new nurses to participate in the residency.

"There's that whole adage about nurses eating their young," Hein said."Nurses have such a high-stress job, and when you bring in a new nurse, she just can't run at the same level as an experienced nurse.So then the older nurses get frustrated, they think she's not doing her fair share, and it's a huge snowball effect."

Resentment from established co-workers can spook new nurses, undermining their development and frightening them away, Hein said.