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Home > News
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| Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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7:35 AM
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Contact: Debra Thompson
Director, RMH Corporate Communications
540-564-5886
Debbie Kile, RN, perioperative
coordinator, and professional practice
council chair (left), and Leslie Ney,
RN, RMH Clinical Ladders chair, hold
a copy of the nursing textbook,
“Patient Care Delegation and
Management for Nurses,” in which
RMH is featured.
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RMH’s clinical ladders nursing program, designed to enhance professional advancement and recognition, has been recognized nationally in the textbook “Patient Care Delegation and Management for Nurses.”
The first edition text was published by Mosby, a medical publishing division of Elsevier Science Company. Kathleen Motacki, RN, MSN, and Kathleen Burke, RN, PhD, co-authored the textbook, designed for use in undergraduate nursing programs.
RMH is featured in the book as an illustration of a clinical ladder nursing program—a system of professional advancement based on continuing education.
“RMH was selected for inclusion in the book due to its differentiation of practice (different levels of nursing),” said Burke. “What’s important is that the hospital administration recognizes there is clinical expertise at the bedside. In the past, clinical expertise got promoted into administration, and there was no way to stay at the bedside and be promoted. This allows the nurse to stay at the bedside while moving up the promotion ladder, working with new graduates and nurses to mentor them and help them through the system. You want the best and the brightest next to the patient, and this allows them to stay there. Studies have shown the higher the education of the nurse, the better the patient outcomes.”
The clinical ladders nursing program is part of RMH’s Shared Governance Model, introduced in 2006. Shared Governance ensures that nurses share in the opportunity to implement programs, policy and procedures that will improve their work environment as well as nursing practice at RMH.
“Shared Governance allows nurses to be a part of decision-making and change,” said Leslie Ney, RN, Clinical Ladders chair. “Several JMU-RMH Collaborative projects have resulted from this program, including nursing workshops, research and journal studies.”
A part of Shared Governance, the clinical ladders program helps RMH recruit and retain nurses while supporting their growth and development and rewarding their accomplishments. The clinical ladders program also serves to incorporate evidence-based nursing practices.
“The clinical ladders program provides nurses with a way to receive recognition for their work, to educate other nurses, participate on hospital committees, become immersed in evidence-based practice and participate in nursing research,” said Debbie Kile, RN, perioperative coordinator, and professional practice council chair. “This program promotes a high level of professionalism.”
In 2010, RMH had the highest number of participating nurses so far in its clinical ladders program. A total of 98 nurses achieved advancement for work done in 2009.
“The nurses who participated in the development of our clinical ladders program recognized the value of the program and designed it to elevate the level of nursing practice at the bedside,” said Donna Hahn, RN, vice president, Acute Care Services, and chief nurse executive. “Excellence in practice needs to be acknowledged and encouraged, both to meet patients’ needs and to acknowledge the expertise of nurses who excel clinically. I am proud to be associated with so many skilled and compassionate nurses who want to make a difference.”
Madge Trobaugh, RN, CPAN, Post Anesthesia Care Unit, is one of several RMH nurses who have reached level five, the highest level of achievement in the RMH clinical ladders program.
“The program guides me to keep an organized record of learning opportunities,” she said. “This helps me keep a reference point, and acts as a reminder to complete goals. The program also gives direction to a variety of opportunities that I otherwise might miss.”
In 2009, Trobaugh received the Excellence in Clinical Nursing award from the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN), in part for work she completed as part of the RMH clinical ladders program.
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