Page 16 - Christiana Care Focus April 2019

Outpatient nurses drive optimal health
as RN IIIs
Alexa Maloney, BSN, RN III-BC, OCN, a radiation oncology nurse in the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute, joined the RN III ranks at Christiana Care in 2018.
Nursing’s clinical ladder advances professional development and rewards experience
On the path to being exceptional today and even better tomorrow, Christiana Care has introduced a three-tiered clinical ladder for nurses in outpatient settings.
The clinical ladder is a professional advancement model that
recognizes and rewards experience, knowledge and clinical Cexpertise, allowing frontline nurses to continually improve their
skills and practice at the top of their nursing license.
hristiana Care’s three-tiered clinical ladder in outpatient — or ambulatory — nursing is the first of its kind in Delaware. It includes nurses in such areas as primary care practices, specialty care practices and the Visiting
Nurse Association.
“Clinical ladder programs provide nurses with the opportunity to improve clinical skills, develop leadership talent and advance professionally, while remaining in direct care,” said Ric Cuming,
14 CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM
Ed.D., MSN, RN, NEA-BC. “Expanding the advancement program to include direct-care colleagues in ambulatory settings will advance optimal health the communities we serve.”
Susan Sinigaglio, MSN, RN III, CCRN, CCRP, is a lead nurse in Cardiac Rehabilitation at Christiana Care. “The RN III gives you a goal — something to work for,” said Sinigaglio. “It brings nursing up to another level. You learn by doing, and there are a lot of ways to improve patient care.”
The inpatient ladder began at Christiana Care in 2002 with the RN I level — a designation automatically assigned to newly hired nurses with less than six months’ experience. The inpatient ladder has expanded to RN IV, for expert clinicians with master’s degrees at the highest level of professional practice.
Exceptional today, better tomorrow
The ladder gives frontline nurses an opportunity for advancement without having to leave their chosen area of care or become an administrator.