As the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for a small rural forty bed Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital (IRF), the professional development plan of the staff is very near and dear to my heart. Poorly prepared of nurses who have not engaged actively in personal and professional growth are less than optimal for either the patients or the facility. Years past I have worked for companies that was not invested in professional growth nor spending the necessary funding for staff education and I personally resented that.
The current state of professional development infrastructure my facility is weak in most areas with the exception of reimbursement for professional certifications for nurses and addition pay as an incentive. Using University Health System as a model I plan on improving several areas in the next twelve months. I am currently involved in a performance improvement project to evaluate ways to improve the orientation of newly hired nurses. When I became the CNO a little over five months ago I realized that the orientation process was one of the first areas that needed improvement. I believe that giving nurses the tools, training, education and support is the best way to properly train nurses and retain the ones that already on staff. My plan increases the amount of classroom orientation for nurses from two hours to one full day. I requested and received full …show more content…
(2008). Promoting Professional Development: Three Phases of Articulation in Nursing Education and Practice. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 13(3), 1-3. Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/vol132008/No3Sept08/PhasesofArticulation.aspx
University Health System. (2017). Nursing Professional Development | University Health System. Retrieved April 9, 2017, from