Nursing Professional Development Specialist - Per Diem

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health brings together two award-winning health systems in Washington state  CHI Franciscan and Virginia Mason. As one integrated health system with the most patient access points in western Washington, our team includes 18,000 staff and nearly 5,000 employed physicians and affiliated providers. At Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, you will find the safest and highest quality of care provided by our expert, compassionate medical care team at 11 hospitals and nearly 300 sites throughout the greater Puget Sound region.  While you’re busy impacting the healthcare industry, we’ll take care of you with benefits that include health/dental/vision, FSA, matching retirement plans, paid vacation, adoption assistance, annual bonus eligibility, and more!

The Nursing Professional Development Specialist I performs as a facilitator of learning, change agent, mentor, leader, champion for scientific inquiry, and a partner for practice transition. Uses tools, theories, skills and knowledge of the Nursing Professional Development specialty to improve the healthcare practice of learners. Supports licensed and non-licensed healthcare personnel in onboarding, orientation, ongoing competency, and role development. Facilitates collaborative partnership and promotes evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives. Contributes to a “state of readiness” for regulatory and certifying bodies. Carries out all responsibilities in alignment with the current Nursing Professional Development Scope and Standards of Practice.

Responsibilties include:

Education/Competency Management:

In consultation with nursing leadership, CPPD team members, unit-based staff and others, identify practice gaps of the clinical unit staff by systematically and purposefully collecting data and information to analyze issues, trends, and outcomes. Prioritize data collection based upon immediate or anticipated needs. Ensure education programs are aligned with unit/department goals and current evidence based-practice recommendations. Define expected outcomes of the education plan using measurable terms. Documents evidence of practice gaps to facilitate education planning process. Sustain ongoing process for data collection and ensure continuous revision of individual and/or unit level education plan related to quality and safety education for nurses, (e.g. falls, infection prevention, new equipment, regulatory changes, accreditation/certification)

a. Provides education programming to address identified practice gaps, which may include licensed and non-licensed healthcare personnel.
b. Facilitates activities to achieve specific outcomes related to specific identified deficits or opportunities for improvement in knowledge, skills, or practice.
c. Supports ongoing assessment and evaluation of the skills, knowledge, abilities, and judgement of licensed and non-licensed healthcare personnel.
d. Documents and supports competency, and addresses competency deficits in staff members and teams.
e. Creates opportunities for feedback and evaluation of the effectiveness of the educational content, teaching strategies and the learning environment.

Onboarding and Orientation:

a. Supports the process of hiring, orienting, socializing, and integrating an employee to the organization with a focus on retention and growth.
b. Facilitates orientation of licensed and unlicensed healthcare personnel during onboarding and when changes in roles, responsibilities, and practice settings occur.
c. Functions as a primary facilitator for clinical orientation.
Professional Role Development:

a. Facilitates a continuous process of maturation through lifelong learning.
b. Supports learner role transition, role integration, skill acquisition and mastery, as learners advance from novice to expert in their profession and specialties in alignment with Virginia Mason Professional Practice Model.
c. Uses current research findings and other evidence to expand learner knowledge, role performance and increase learner awareness of professional issues.

Collaborative Partnerships:

a. Partners with individuals, groups, and/or organizations to share expertise in planning and decision-making to achieve common goals.
b. Within collaborative partnerships may teach, coordinate, serve as liaison, and advise others concerning education and learning.
Research/Evidence-based Practice/Quality Improvement:
a. Promotes and facilitates evidence-based practice (EBP) and/or quality improvement (QI) activities.
b. Promotes and integrates the science of the Nursing Professional Development specialty to continuously improve his/her practice.

• WA state RN license, a BSN or equivalent degree, and a minimum of three years of nursing experience.
• Certification in Nursing Professional Development is required within two years of hire.
• The incumbent must possess excellent communication, teaching, group facilitation and presentation skills, demonstrate, and teach new technology, equipment, patient care and standards of care.
• This position requires an individual who will promote high standards of care and model/mentor new as well as experienced staff.
• The incumbent must have knowledge of VM Production System and Lean principles or obtain such knowledge within one year of hire.

Preferred:

• Prior experience as an educator and relevant clinical experience.
• Certification in nursing clinical specialty area is preferred.

We deliver inspired people to do meaningful work.

We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.