Professional Growth

At St. Clair Hospital, our nurses collaborate directly with attending physicians. There is great responsibility and need for sophisticated clinical skills, critical thinking and a deep understanding of disease processes, treatments and medical technology. Every day at St. Clair, nurses provide care, monitor patient status, interpret and communicate changes, keep patients safe, relieve pain and anxiety, educate patients and families, and collaborate with other disciplines. In addition, nurses offer genuine caring and compassion to their patients, providing comfort and respite from stress through authentic human connection.

As a new graduate nurse, you will be encouraged to work on one of the Medical/Surgical units and enhance your critical thinking and clinical skills. If you wish to advance to a specialty care unit, your manager will work with you to obtain the necessary skills to work in one of the following departments: Family Birth Center, Preoperative Services, Critical Care, Care Transitions, Psychiatry & Mental Health, and Leadership.

St. Clair has a Professional Development Program to recognize nurses who advance their careers through education, collaboration and service. It is a voluntary program, conducted annually. Each participant completes rigorous objectives that are meant to enhance their skills and develop their practice, including a process improvement project and community service. Completing the program entitles the nurse to additional financial incentives and financial support for her or his education — these funds can be used for tuition, conference attendance or obtaining certification in a clinical specialty.

St. Clair Hospital encourages staff members to attain advanced professional certification, which enhances their ability and capacity to contribute to the work of the Hospital. The Professional Certification Program is designed to provide reimbursement of certification costs and recognize and reward employees’ attainment of advanced professional certification and furthering the knowledge of others in the organization. The program is administered by the Human Resources Department.

RMU’s School of Nursing is one of many regional nursing schools that have been bringing groups of nursing students to St. Clair for clinical rotations for years. An academic service partnership between the school and St. Clair takes this agreement a step further and deeper. St. Clair’s relationship with RMU offers these distinct benefits:

• An enhanced RN to BSN program to help St. Clair nurses with associate degrees and nursing school diplomas earn a baccalaureate degree.
• St. Clair will serve as a site for research for RMU students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
• BSN students at RMU will have a Dedicated Educational Unit program, which is a peer education model that is transforming the way that nursing students gain clinical skills by specialty-trained hospital staff nurses functioning as clinical instructors. Staff nurses will pair with nursing students to give them clinical experience and a realistic view of hospital-based nursing.