The Bridges to Excellence program provides nurses an opportunity to seek professional development in disciplines their units may not be able to provide, as well as offering the possibility of experiencing new challenges.
This program allows nurses the chance to explore opportunities in which they are interested or curious about and provides intellectual stimulation. Nurses can choose from one of two pathways: the leadership pathway, which includes four- or eight-hour experiences, or the clinical pathway, which includes four-, eight- or 12-hour experiences. In addition, nurses can use continuing education time while in the program.
Requirements
To participate in the Bridges to Excellence Program, a nurse must:
Step 1: Have worked on unit/clinic for a minimum of one year
Step 2: Download and complete the Manager Approval Form and upload to Intent to Visit application
Step 3: Complete online Intent to Visit application
Clinical Intent to Visit Application
Leadership Intent to Visit Application
Step 4: After completion of the experience, submit exemplar and evaluation to Nursing Quality, Research & Education. Exemplar Resource Guide
UCI Health provides its registered nurses free access to CE Direct. CE Direct offers high-quality educational resources for nurses including the following:
- Continuing Education Hours
- Over 4,000 courses for 60-plus nursing specialties and 20-plus allied health professions to maintain licensures, increase knowledge and professional performance
- Certification review
- Over 50 review courses to help staff self-prepare for certification exams or earn CE hours and improve knowledge
- Focused CE series
- Provide an intensive blended learning experience that combines webinars, readings and online forums to increase clinical proficiency and exam preparedness
- Reference Tools
- Use the Digital Clinical Textbook as a convenient reference for 600-plus conditions and diseases most frequently encountered by healthcare providers at the bedside
For more information visit, lms.nurse.com
Nursing research provides the scientific basis for the practice of the profession. Using multiple philosophical and theory-based approaches as well as diverse methodologies, nursing research focuses on understanding the symptoms of illness; preventing and slowing disease or disability; finding effective approaches to achieving optimal health; and improving clinical settings where care is provided (American Association of Colleges of Nursing 2006, 1).
Every nurse is encouraged to examine their everyday clinical practice for research projects. Nurses who have suggestions about how to improve nursing in their area are encouraged to share them. The clinical nurse specialists and or the clinical educators are able to work with the nurse to translate their observations from daily practice into a research question.
Nurses who wish to become involved in research are encouraged to contact their clinical nurse specialist/educator for guidance and more information.
