Fiscal year 2023 was an exciting year for the Professional Nursing Practice department. While promoting the department’s mission and vision of high-quality care though professional development, being trailblazers in nursing leadership and scholarship and promoting excellence in clinical practice, three new projects were implemented and the RUSH CPR training center was redesigned.
New Beginnings: A Well-being Program for New Graduate Nurses
- Adriana Rumoro, MEd, BSN, RN, NPD-BC LSSGB
- Kim Sangster, PhD, MDiv, LCSW
- Judy B. Friedrichs, DNP, RN, FT, CPLC
The purpose of the New Beginnings program is to develop skills and enhance the well-being of new graduate nurses as they transition from academia to a professional clinical setting.
New Beginnings supports new graduate nurses with help starting their first job as a registered nurse; identifying, managing and preventing stress, stressors and burnout; increasing awareness on living authentically; and most importantly providing the tools, resources and empowerment for active engagement in personal well-being after the program. A well-being tool kit is provided during the program. The tool kit includes resiliency tips, reflective questions, breathing and resiliency exercises and more. The individualized tool kit is meaningful to the new graduate nurse and supports their well-being.
Charge Nurse Fellowship
- Adriana Rumoro, MEd, BSN, RN, NPD-BC, LSSGB
- Kim Ramos, MSN-Ed, RN, MEDSURG-BC, NPD-BC
Charge Nurse Fellowship was developed to equip nurses with the skills to support and lead health care teams that will impact operational performances, nursing engagement and retention and improved patient outcomes. The focus of the fellowship program is on well-being and advanced leadership training for charge nurses to meet the challenges of the evolving and complex healthcare care environment.
Feedback and ratings from the fellows evaluating the program have been positive and life changing. The program gave participants the confidence to pursue other leadership roles. To showcase the work an abstract was submitted and accepted as podium presentation at the 2023 SIGMA International Nursing Research Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Additionally, a pamphlet was developed to share best practices for development of a nursing fellowship program.
Nurse Mentorship Program
- Pheonix Silverlight, MSN, RN, CNL
- Susan Nelson, BSN, RN, CPN
- Saraly SanPedro, MSN, RN, CRRN
- Kim Ramos, MSN-Ed, RN, MEDSURG-BC, NPD-BC
To support the job retention and satisfaction of RUSH University Medical Center’s new graduate nurses, the Professional Nursing Practice secured a grant from the RUSH Woman’s Board to develop, pilot and implement a nurse mentorship program. The program, launched on January 16, 2023, paired a group of 17 new graduate nurses with an individual mentor. Mentees were presented with a pool of four to eight mentors whose interests and personality traits aligned with theirs. To encourage a sense of agency, mentees review mentor profiles and select the mentor of their choice.
During the six-month program, mentees developed and worked toward a professional goal. They benefitted from personal and professional support around their ongoing experiences in the new graduate nurse role. Mentorship relationships were forged through initial discussions and ongoing monthly check-ins. Monthly topic prompts were provided to further support the mentees’ ongoing growth and development. Upon the program’s end, all 17 mentees were retained in the RUSH University System for Health.
RUSH CPR Training Center
- Brent Alwood, MSN, RN
In early 2023 the RUSH CPR Training Center underwent a comprehensive redesign. This redesign aimed at enhancing efficiency and expanding class availability. The transformation involved hiring a dedicated pool of CPR instructors, centralization of class registration through the RUSH Learning Hub, the implementation of a standardized calendar for class offerings, implementation of a quality dashboard for continuous improvement and uniformization of class offerings across the system. Alongside these improvements, the CPR Training Center introduced new classes, including the family and friends’ program. Concurrently, the center extended its outreach to the local community, reinforcing its steadfast commitment to educating and empowering the community with life-saving skills.
