Nursing
On Site Learning Opportunities
Hospital & Unit-Specific Orientation
In addition to the Hospital's general orientation, we provide a two-day nursing orientation focussing on nursing-specific competencies (examples include infection control, wound care and code blue response).
We also provide unit specific nursing orientation to:
- Familiarize new staff with program, unit goals and routines, interdisciplinary team members, policies, protocols, procedures, equipment and professional and advanced nursing competencies within specialty.
- Authorize nurses to perform advanced nursing competencies (such as defibrillation, IABP, ICP monitoring, CRRT, hemodynamic monitoring, health assessment, newborn resuscitation, breastfeeding, electronic fetal monitoring, care of central venous lines, Hickman, PIIC, and Port a caths).
Unit specific orientation varies monthly to quarterly on each unit throughout the Hospital. Inpatient unit orientation varies, on average, from one to two weeks. Critical Care, perioperative services and Specialty Areas (such as obstetrics, hemodialysis, emergency) varies from four to eight weeks. Orientation may be extended for new graduate nurses.
Conferences & Education Events
St. Michael's Hospital offers innovative continuing education to support the professional growth of registered nurses — from novice to expert. Development opportunities for both internal employees and external colleagues include conferences, workshops and onsite partnerships with academic institutions. Examples include:
- "A Focus on ER Nursing Excellence" conference held annually in the spring.
- E-mail: emergencyconference@smh.ca
- Annual cardiovascular review in preparation for the CNA cardiovascular nursing exam. The third annual review ran on Feb. 17, 24 and Mar. 3, 2007.
- E-mail: CruzJ@smh.ca
- Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) offered by acute care education at intervals throughout the year. All healthcare professionals are welcome.
- Leg ulcer management workshop. Reviews pathophysiology of venous insufficiency, assessment and differentiating leg ulcers and hands on application of various compression systems.
- E-mail: TeagueL@smh.ca.
- Neuroscience nursing 1 from George Brown offered onsite. Prerequisite: RN. Start date Sept. for 12 weeks. Every Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register at www.georgebrown.ca/coned.
- Ostomy preceptorship workshop. Learn why people end up with stomas, identify and selecting different ostomy products, ileo-anal reservoir procedure, diets and ostomies, fistula management and more. Offered three times per year.
- Phone: 416-864-6060 Ext. 2534
- SMH, a regional stroke center presents stroke 30s, which are designed to educate staff on best practice guidelines on stroke care. Stroke 30s will occur twice monthly and are open to health-care professionals to attend and enrich their knowledge on stroke care.
- E-mail: BarnabyJu@smh.ca for further information.
- Advanced practice national wound care preceptorship program. This program is industry sponsored, with interdisciplinary faculty from the Hospital. You will participate in learning about design, implementation and evaluation of wound care programs in a two-day session with advanced practice nurses from across Canada. This program is offered two times each year and seating is limited.
- E-mail: TeagueL@smh.ca
- Wound care workshops level 1 to 3. Participants learn best practices for pressure ulcer prevention, stages of pressure ulcers, physiology and pathophysiology of wound healing, diabetic foot care, and advanced wound therapy. Interactive sessions allow hands on learning and best practices are described using a case based approach.
- E-mail: wccoursereg@smh.ca.
