Nursing
Developing Retaining Talent
Developing our Novice Nurses
We have a strong commitment to fostering professional growth for novice
nurses as evidenced by:
- the number of dedicated clinical education roles
- the numerous educational initiatives
- our innovative new graduate nursing internship program
- hospital and unit specific orientation programs
New Graduate Nursing Internship Program
This innovative program provides new graduates upon hire with opportunities to:
- Be mentored by an experienced nurse with clinical expertise in the chosen area through a partnership.
- Acquire new clinical and technical skills.
- Learn how to prioritize patient care needs and manage a workload.
- Spend time in related clinical areas.
- Learn about advanced practice roles.
The goal is to promote the transfer of knowledge to new graduates
within an accountability framework focussing on the new graduate nurse’s
professional growth and autonomy, which will lead to active participation
as a member of the clinical team.
Two types of internships are available:
- six-month internship in the emergency or intensive care unit
- three-month internship in any of the other program/service areas
Internship program participants will be chosen based on the following criteria:
- Candidate must be a new graduate hired into a permanent full-time position.
- Candidate must have no employment experience as a nurse.
- Candidate must be a graduate of a Canadian nursing school.
- Candidate must have CNO registration (either temporary or permanent). (Note: If the license is temporary, practice restrictions will apply).
- Consolidation in a comparable clinical setting is considered an asset.
Supporting Internationally Trained Nurses
St. Michael's Hospital has been developing specific programs to help new immigrants with international education and experience join the Canadian workforce since 2000. A leader in the field, our expertise has influenced government and regulators to improve policies and programs to enable internationally educated immigrants to gain work in their profession.
Working in partnership with government, regulatory bodies, educators and others, we have inspired new models of hiring practices not only in Canada but worldwide. Our mentoring program for internationally educated professionals has been replicated across the country and our publication “Making Connections – A New Model of Mentoring for Internationally Trained Professionals” is used around the globe to guide mentoring programs for internationally educated professionals. Most recently our success was recognized when we received the 2006 Immigrant Success Award presented by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) .
We recognize the value of integrating internationally educated employees, particularly nurses. Internationally educated nurses bring a wealth of skills beyond the clinical. They speak other languages and understand different cultures which reflect the diversity of our local community and the city of Toronto. They contribute to the strength of our health care system, chiefly as integral members of the health-care team and ensure optimal care for our diverse patient population.
Advocating for and mentoring internationally educated professionals is one way in which we can better prepare them for today’s complex health environments. We continue to build a partnership with the CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses, which provides a variety of services for internationally educated nurses. The services help them gain the knowledge and experience needed to better ensure success when they write their exam at the College of Nurses of Ontario.
We provide, through our partnership with the CARE Centre, a wide range of opportunities for CARE participants, including job shadowing, work related learning opportunities and employment to graduates from the CARE Centre who achieve their license to practice nursing in Ontario.
We continue to provide mentoring opportunities for a range of internationally educated professionals and are a key leader in providing internship opportunities at the hospital in partnership with CareerBridge.
Nursing Scholarships
- Sister Christine Gaudet Scholarship Fund
- Dr. S. Gordon Ross Memorial Fund
The Sister Christine Gaudet scholarship fund and the Dr. S. Gordon Ross Memorial Fund are to provide financial assistance in the form of scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 for the staff of St. Michael's Hospital or their children, pursuing studies in a health-care related field. Individuals may receive a maximum of two scholarships during their studies. Awards are made semi annually to one or more qualified applicants chosen from all those who apply.
Our RN Performance Appraisal System
Developing and enhancing employee skills are vital to making St. Michael's Hospital a great place to work. Having a standardized performance appraisal system for all registered nurses is one important step in this process.
The hospital's performance review tool for RNs is competency-based and has been designed to support the College of Nurses annual quality assurance requirements and is based on a model of self-reflective practice.
Along with maintaining the requirements for RN registration, the performance review process promotes learning and continuous professional development by helping RNs to:
- Analyze their own nursing practice
- Reflect on where they are in terms of their own professional development
- Receive meaningful feedback from their manager and peers about their performance
- Create a learning plan to identify areas for growth not only to meet their professional standards but to achieve an expert level of practice
