Building a career
Children's Memorial nurses may select from a variety of professional development opportunities to build a career in pediatric nursing. Select links to the topics listed below to learn more about orientation, education, research, and grant opportunities available to nurses at Children's Memorial.
Orientation
At Children's Memorial, we're committed to nurses' personal and professional development. Our orientation program, an in-depth introduction to pediatric care, is extensive and individualized to make our nurses confident and comfortable in their surroundings. This thorough program, which includes classes, clinical instruction by nurse preceptors and exposure to key members of our medical center, lasts six to eight weeks, but can be extended or decreased to accommodate individual nurses' needs.
And we offer extensive additional orientation programs for nurses in specialized areas such as pediatric and neonatal intensive care, operating rooms and the emergency department.
Example of a class schedule for new employee nursing orientation
Nursing specialty orientation lengths, classes, and resources
Continuing education
At Children's Memorial, we provide nurses with constant educational support. Each one of our units has a designated clinical educator and/or nurse specialist who answers questions, conducts research, discusses treatments, demonstrates procedures and provides support. Nurses at Children's Memorial never have to look very far for answers. The Department of Clinical Education provides a variety of programs, lectures, workshops, seminars and demonstrations to keep nurses up-to-date with current nursing practices and procedures. And, as a teaching and research hospital, we provide an environment where inquiry is encouraged and learning is a universal goal. Internal grant funding is available for nurses to conduct research related to nursing pediatric concerns.
College tuition assistance
Going back to school? We'll help finance your education through our tuition assistance program. The program pays tuition costs up to $5,000 per year for regular employees. College credit classes or certification that is directly related to an employee's job or hospital-related are covered. Your courses do not need to relate directly to your current position but need to be applicable to a position at the hospital. And, if you are enrolled in a degree program related to a job at the hospital, and the program requires a course that isn't job related, we still cover the costs.
To participate, you must be employed by Children's Memorial for 90 days prior to the start of your class, and you need to complete a tuition reimbursement form, available through Human Resources , prior to beginning the class.
What is the GOAL Award Program?
The GOAL (Grants for Ongoing Active Learning) Award Program is a philanthropy-funded program developed to increase employee educational opportunities. The program will pay for staff attendance at outside workshops and conferences that will help them achieve medical center, department or patient care goals.
There are two types of awards -- individual and department. An individual award pays for employee attendance at external workshops and conferences. (The maximum monetary award per individual is $2000). A departmental award provides funding for an on-site workshop that would provide education for five or more employees.
Prince Scholarship and Sabbatical Awards
The Prince Scholar and Sabbatical Program is an endowed fund that provides grant support for nurses to attend professional conferences, implement a research proposal or develop an innovative program for nursing practice. Prince Scholar program funds proposals up to $4,000 and the Prince Sabbatical program funds proposals up to $10,000. A call for proposals is distributed each November. Proposals are due by the end of January and funded in February of each year. Here is a list describing the most current approved projects (Feb. 2003).
Shaw Research Grants in Nursing and Allied Health
The Shaw Research Grants in Nursing and the Allied Health Professions funds nursing and allied health research proposals. The Shaw Research Grant is targeted for research projects that have a significant potential to impact patient care. The fund supports research awards in the range of $10,000 to $12,000. A call for proposals is distributed each February. Proposals are due by the end of May and funded in June of each year.
The Shaw Collaborative Faculty Research Grants Program seeks to establish collaborative research relationships between doctorally prepared nurses or allied health professionals and staff at Children's Memorial Hospital. The program is targeted for research projects that have a significant potential to affect the care of children. Interested faculty will be co-principal investigators with Children's Memorial nurses and/or allied health professionals and will mentor project staff in the research process. Two faculty collaborative research awards in the range of $15,000 to $25,000 are awarded each year. A call for proposals is distributed each February. Proposals are due by the end of May and funded in June of each year. Please contact Elaine Graf in the Department of Clinical Education for further information.