Nearly 2,000 System Nurses To Participate In NYC Health + Hospitals Nursing Clinical Ladder Program

NYC Health + Hospitals with hospitals from Harlem to Hollis today announced that 1,982 system nurses were selected to participate in the Nursing Clinical Ladder Program.

The program provides nurses career advancement while remaining in the clinical setting, and is used to recognize professional development, nursing expertise, and contributions to the nursing profession.

Through the program, nurses are able to engage in a number of initiatives and projects, including leading their own research, engaging in volunteer work, participating in shared governance meetings, and more to help enhance their experience.

This is the program’s second year and is open to all staff nurses within the system, regardless of tenure or level.

Nurses’ commitment for this year’s program runs from April through October 2021.

NYC Health + Hospitals’ Nursing Clinical Ladder Program builds on the system’s commitment to its nursing workforce and their professional development.

“NYC Health + Hospitals is invested in the advancement of each of our 9,000 nursing professionals that keep our system going and provide exceptional care to all New Yorkers,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive Natalia Cineas, DNP, RN, NEA-BC. “Our Nursing Clinical Ladder program provides our nurses the opportunity to develop professional portfolios by completing projects focused on implementing evidence-based practice and quality improvement.

Overall, the purpose of the program is to:

• Enhance, recognize, and reward professional development among staff nurses;
• Retain staff nurses in direct patient care positions;
• Enhance staff nurse employee satisfaction;
• Facilitate recruitment of Registered Nurses by incentivizing nursing professional development;
• Promote the vision of nursing at NYC Health + Hospitals; and
• Enhance nursing care and patient outcomes.

Interested participants are required to submit a formal application, which includes a letter of intent, along with approvals from their direct nursing leaders.

Applications are evaluated by a Nursing Clinical Ladder Program review committee at each facility, which are made up of nursing leadership and Chief Nursing Officers.

In its inaugural year, participants submitted Covid-19 clinical reflections, projects on the impact hourly rounds have on patient outcomes, investigated multidisciplinary methods to help manage potentially aggressive psychosis patients in the Emergency Departments, further engage in community outreach, and various SWOT analyses on existing processes and programs to help straighten services.

The Nursing Clinical Ladder Program fulfills components of the NYSNA contract signed in December 2019, which included opportunities for retention and professional development for all system nurses.

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs.

A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals.

Its diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible.

For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem.