Speakers
Description
Women’s College Hospital (WCH) is a world leader in health for women, health equity and health system solutions – a hospital designed to keep people out of hospital. We are developing ground-breaking innovations that address issues related to population health, patient and staff experience, equity and accessibility, and system costs using the quintuple aim framework.
In Summer 2023, WCH received one-time funding from Ontario Health to implement the Clinical Scholar Program (CSP) with an end date of March 31, 2024. The CSP is a formal nursing mentorship program to support skill building, knowledge acquisition and integration into their clinical areas, aiming to improve nursing retention. New graduate nurses and nurses wishing to upskill are paired with an experienced nurse. WCH has experienced a 2023 nursing turnover rate of 35%, compared to a stable 3% pre-pandemic rate.
We leveraged our BPSO designation and the RNAO’s systematic implementation of best practice guidelines using evidence-based implementation science by focusing on the best practice guideline of Professionalism in Nursing, concentrating on Autonomy to support mentee nurses’ self-identified learning goals. These goals included Communication, Scope of Practice, Clinical Skills, Self-Reflection, and Leadership.
To ensure that our deep commitment to equity was embedded in this program and recognizing the influence that the nurse mentors would have on shaping the nursing staff receiving mentoring, we worked with the Office of Equity and Ganawishkadawe Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health to provide enriched education to our Clinical Scholar Nurses on culturally safe care. We measured the self-efficacy and confidence in equity of nurse mentees and mentors, noting a significant increase. While the tool is not validated, we will monitor these outcomes with our next cohort of mentees, as we have received funding to continue the program.
What RNAO BPG or tool/toolkit is this work related to:
Professionalism in Nursing BPG
Author(s) Credentials and Title
Jacqueline Follis MSN, RN (She/Her)
Nurse Lead, Choosing Wisely Canada
Adjunct Lecturer, L. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
Fellow of Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (CQuIPS)
Jennifer Price, PhD, RN
VP of Clinical Programs and Corporate Nursing & Professional Practice Executive
Theresa Kay PT, MHSc, BSc,
Director Professional Practice
Keywords
Clinical scholar program, Nursing retention, Equity, Mentoring
| Organization Name | Womens College Hospital |
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