Learn more - Nursing Careers at Cedars

nursing
OUR PATIENTS
ARE OUR PASSION
care proven inspiration integrity compassion
I
t’s no secret that patient care is constantly advancing
and growing increasingly complex. At Cedars-Sinai, our
nurses are proud to serve as champions of change. As a
worldwide leader in healthcare, we are committed to developing
and providing the very best evidence-based clinical care for our
patients and the communities we serve.
At the same time, we recognize that we are nurses first. we are passionate about nursing and our
patients. that passion is demonstrated in the way we perform our everyday tasks to help ensure our
patients receive exceptional care that results in improved outcomes, satisfaction and safety.
I recently had the privilege of serving as vice chair of the Initiative on the Future of nursing, a joint
effort of the robert wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute of Medicine. this initiative has
taken a groundbreaking look at nursing’s ability to transform how healthcare is delivered in the U.s.
and the many challenges faced by the nursing profession.
I’m pleased to say that Cedars-sinai has already put into place many of the recommendations
outlined in the report issued by the Institute of Medicine. we empower our nurses to practice to
the full extent of their skills, training and education. we encourage our nurses to achieve higher
levels of education, and we provide the tools and resources they need to stay their personal best. For
example, our endowed Geri and richard Brawerman nursing Institute offers financial assistance
and free education programs to Cedars-sinai nurses and has helped more than 1,000 nurses advance
their careers since it was founded in 2002. we also offer the nation’s first online bachelor’s nursing
program in partnership with western Governors University, which allows nurses to complete their
coursework online and also complete rn to Bsn and Bsn to Msn on the web.
through our highly successful MD-rn Collaborative, we foster a collegial working relationship
with our medical staff colleagues and other health professionals. we embrace technology to improve
the quality and safety of patient care with electronic medical records, bar coding for medications and
robotic delivery of supplies.
we are proud to be at the forefront of the nursing profession, and we invite you to join our
team as a Cedars-sinai nurse. now more than ever, nursing plays a critical role in the delivery
of patient care. our time is here. For more information, I encourage you to visit our website at
cedars-sinai.edu/careers or contact our nursing recruitment office at 1-800-795-nUrs.
sincerely,
linda Burnes Bolton, DrPh, rn, FAAn
vice President, nursing and Chief nursing officer
Cedars-sinai health system and Burns and Allen research Institute
02
on the Cover:
Nicole M.
Ballweg, RN
and tktktk.
(This page)
Cedars-Sinai
bulding tktktk
Cedars-Sinai at a Glance
2,800
Nurses
86%
Percentage of nurses who have BSN or master’s degrees
56%
Percentage of eligible nurses who have earned specialty
certifications
2,200
Physicians
500
Other healthcare professionals
923
Licensed beds
1,155
Research projects
$50.6M
Research funding from NIH and other federal sources
494
Medical residents and fellows trained
$600.6M
Community benefit contribution (fiscal year 2011)
03
leadership dedication patient-centered safety
Always at the Forefront
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is an
internationally renowned teaching
hospital and research facility that
provides the highest quality patient
care that modern medicine offers.
Founded in 1902, Cedars-Sinai is the
largest non-profit academic medical
center in the Western United States
and home to one of the busiest
Emergency Departments in the
nation. Our reputation for excellence
in patient care, research, healthcare
education and community service
is so exemplary that healthcare
professionals from around the nation
and across the globe visit regularly to
learn our best practices.
A world-class leader in the study of heart disease,
cancer and neuroscience, Cedars-Sinai is conducting
more than 1,150 research projects that are helping
set new standards for excellent healthcare. Our
breakthrough research in the use of cardiac stem
cells to heal damaged hearts, the use of therapeutic
hypothermia for stroke victims and the testing of new
drugs that target the genetic disruption of cancer cells
are advancing medical science in ways that will have a
significant impact on healthcare in the future.
Meeting the health needs of our community has
been an integral part of Cedars-Sinai’s mission for
more than 100 years, and Nursing plays a significant
role in this effort. Each year, our nurses donate
thousands of hours of free community service to
provide underserved people of all ages with access to
quality healthcare. In fiscal year 2011, the medical
center contributed more than $600 million to
Community Benefit programs and services, including
care for the uninsured and those with limited means.
As part of our Community Benefit, Cedars-Sinai
offers a variety of health and educational programs
on-site and in the community, including COACH
for Kids and Their Families® mobile medical care.
Cedars-Sinai is an intellectually stimulating,
exciting and diverse work environment that
attracts top nursing talent and offers nurses
exceptional opportunities to advance their
skills and to earn academic degrees and
specialty certifications. Cedars-Sinai’s nurses
are compassionate and highly skilled healthcare
professionals who bring a strong sense of
personal commitment, passion and dedication to
the art and science of healing.
The 2,800 men and women who comprise
our dedicated nursing staff have the experience,
commitment and skills to work at any hospital
of their choosing. By making Cedars-Sinai their
“employer of choice,” they have opted to work at
a medical center where they are empowered and
inspired to provide superb patient care every day.
Cedars-Sinai receives many awards for
excellence every year: In 2008, Cedars-Sinai
received its third consecutive Magnet designation
for nursing excellence, making it the hospital
with the longest-running Magnet designation in
California. The American Nurses Credentialing
Center, which awards this prestigious designation,
noted that Cedars-Sinai’s nursing services
represent the “highest standards in the nation and
internationally.”
For more than 20 years, Los Angeles area
residents have named Cedars-Sinai the “Most
Preferred Hospital for All Health Needs”
in National Research Corporation’s annual
Healthcare Market Guide survey. It also ranked #1
in several categories including Best Nurses, Best
Doctors, Best Overall Quality, Highest Patient
Safety and Best Image and Reputation.
Cedars-Sinai continues to have outcomes of
care that are better than the national rate for three
key measures — heart attack, heart failure and
pneumonia. It is extremely rare for a hospital to
have ratings better than the national average in all
three categories.
Cedars-Sinai also has been named a NICHE
(Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders)
site, the only national designation indicating a
hospital’s commitment to elder care excellence
and a signal of our resolve to provide patientcentered care for older adults.
“
Unless we are
making progress in
our nursing every year,
every month, every
week, take my word for
it, we are going back.
Florence Nightingale
”
Nurse
Manager
Shahin
Thomas,
MSN, RN,
CCRN, reviews
results with
a participant
at the annual
Telemundo
Health &
Wellness
Expo in Los
Angeles.
Nurse
Manager
Mary ReyesGonzales,
MSN, RN
04
PAtIent ^ FAMIly CentereD CAre
Cedars-sinai’s employees share a
strong dedication to quality patient
care, patient satisfaction and patient
safety, which is why Cedars-sinai is
such an excellent place to bring loved
ones for superb care. At Cedars-sinai,
our patients and people come first.
Cedars-sinai’s nurses are encouraged
to grow and excel, to participate
in decision-making processes, to
collaborate with the medical staff and
to provide an exceptionally high level
of patient care.
« Shared Governance » Cedars-sinai gives nurses a
strong voice in how patient care is delivered through
shared Governance Unit Practice Councils, a format
that allows them to raise issues that affect their work
environment and patient care. Unit Practice Councils
enable members of our nursing staff and management
to work together to identify potential areas for quality
and service improvement and to discuss and jointly
decide how to meet challenges. they promote a
culture of accountability in which every staff member’s
participation counts toward improving the unit’s
overall performance.
« Cedars-Sinai Medicine » Cedars-sinai Medicine
is a comprehensive, multi-year initiative designed
to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and
appropriateness of what we do for our patients. we’re
developing best practices for a wide range of diseases
and conditions to optimize outcomes and value for
our patients.
the work is being conducted by numerous
multispecialty and multidisciplinary teams that
include hundreds of healthcare professionals,
including nurses, as well as physicians, pharmacists,
therapists, case managers and social workers.
« Transforming Care at the Bedside » Cedars-sinai
was one of 13 hospitals nationwide — and the only
hospital in southern California — that participated
in the national pilot program known as transforming
Care at the Bedside (tCAB), which asks nurses
to use evidence-based “tests of change” to try out
new practices.
« Shift-to-Shift Rounding » some of the “tests of
change” innovated at Cedars-sinai include bedside
walking rounds to help ease the transition of nurses
beginning and ending their shifts. the process allows
both the off-going nurse and the oncoming nurse to
conduct rounds together, giving them an opportunity
to ask questions, clarify information and assess
patients’ immediate needs.
« Discharge Care » Cedars-sinai recognizes that care
doesn’t stop when patients are discharged from the
hospital. A number of programs developed by Cedarssinai’s nurses aim to better prepare patients for their
first day home. For instance, nurses make about 4,000
phone calls a month to recently discharged patients
to answer any questions they may have about their
prescriptions, discharge instructions, recovery process
and follow-up medical services.
06
care
Macy
Amarillento,
RN, CN III
(left), and
Fely Mercado,
RN, CN III,
in the NICU
Family-Centered Care in the NICU
Screenwriter Jason Graham has no plans to write
a screenplay about the four months he spent
in Cedars-Sinai’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU) while his premature twin sons learned to
breathe on their own.
But if he does ever write about the experience,
the heroines will be the nurses who watched over
him, his wife, Jessica, and their infants, Charlie
and Beckett, who each weighed less than two
pounds at birth.
“The nurses have a job that involves dealing with
the parents, who are often under tremendous
stress, and these tiny humans, who need so
much care,” says Jason, 37. “They, more than
anyone else, made us feel that we and our sons
would be okay.”
Jessica, 36, a media executive, suspected
something was wrong when she began
experiencing severe contractions just two days
after getting a perfect bill of health during her
six-month check-up. By the time the Grahams
arrived at Cedars-Sinai, Jessica had already begun
to dilate and one of the babies was starting to
crown.
Born at less than 26 weeks of development,
both babies spent the �irst several weeks of their
lives on respirators in the NICU. Beckett, the
bigger twin who weighed 870 grams at birth, was
able to breathe without a respirator more quickly
than his brother and went home after 80 days
in the NICU. Charlie, who weighed 850 grams at
birth, stayed in the NICU for 116 days.
Jason and Jessica both expressed appreciation
for the 24-hour access they had to their babies
and the family-centered care the nurses and
physicians provided them during their four-month
ordeal. “The philosophy is that the parents are the
most important member of the team,” Jason says.
They developed especially warm feelings for
Macy Amarillento, RN, CN III, and Fely Mercado,
RN, CN III, the lead nurses who were in charge
of the boys’ care and are now the Grahams’
Facebook friends.
“If the nurses weren’t so good, we would have
had a very different experience,” Jason says. “It
was the nurses who made all the difference.”
“
”
It was the nurses who made all the difference.
Jason Graham, NICU patients’ father
07
excellence proven quality leadership passion
Promoting Quality ^ Safety
through Innovation
Safety is an important component
of providing quality patient care
and a comfortable work environment.
At Cedars-Sinai, we regularly track
our success according to standards
set nationally through The Joint
Commission.
Some quality and safety initiatives
where Cedars-Sinai has had
particular success include:
Hand Hygiene
In our patient rooms, on our hand hygiene kiosks
and even in our elevators, there are constant
reminders that “clean hands save lives” and that
everyone must clean their hands each time they
enter and exit a patient room. Our hand hygiene
program has received national news coverage for
our successful efforts to improve hand washing
compliance among our employees, including
medical staff. Some of our departments now
regularly achieve a monthly compliance rate of
100 percent — a staggering achievement.
Hospital Acquired Infections
Eliminating hospital-acquired infections is a top
priority for the medical center. We adopted the mantra
that “At Cedars-Sinai, zero is the greatest number.”
It isn’t enough for us to merely reduce the number
of infections. Our goal is to eliminate and prevent
them completely, which requires a commitment
from every member of our healthcare team — from
physicians and nurses, to administrators and
environmental services — and also from our patients
and visitors. Since implementing a number of task
force recommendations, including installing patient
privacy curtains with an anti-microbial finish, CedarsSinai has been able to virtually wipe out infections
from patient rooms and medical equipment.
With this commitment firmly in place, we have
also made it a priority to eliminate central lineassociated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). A
number of measures have been implemented to
“
reduce CLABSIs, including a key practice to “scrub
the hub” for 15 seconds every time the line is used,
then allow it to dry for an additional 30 seconds.
Results have been very positive and in 2011, seven
nursing units in the hospital — including the NICU
— went more than a year without a CLABSI.
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Cedars-Sinai has some of the lowest rates of
ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the nation,
largely because we are so proactive in our surveillance.
Members of our epidemiology team make nearly daily
rounds of every patient on a ventilator to ensure that
nurses and doctors are following all recommended
precautions. The epidemiology team, which consists
of 12 nurses, two doctors, a manager and two data
analysts, is one of the largest in the United States.
Surgical Site Infections
Cedars-Sinai is working with The Joint
Commission’s Center for Transforming Healthcare
to reduce surgical site infections after colorectal
surgical procedures. A yearlong study at CedarsSinai gathered data on surgical site infections
for all inpatient colorectal surgeries and is
now the basis for The Joint Commission’s
recommendations to prevent infections.
Code Sepsis
Studies show that the most effective treatment for
sepsis is the administration of antibiotics within
one hour of recognizing the condition. Calling a
Code Sepsis triggers a rapid response to sepsis
infections. When sepsis is suspected, cultures are
drawn and the RN immediately pages the unit
pharmacist to expedite an order of antibiotics.
This project is just one example of the many initiatives
being implemented as part of Cedars-Sinai Medicine.
Falls Prevention
A nurse-initiated safety program for patients at
risk of falling called “Just-in-Time Reinforcement”
has dramatically reduced patient falls since
its implementation in 2011. When a falls risk
patient presses the call button to go to the
bathroom, he or she is asked to stay in bed until
someone can quickly come in to assist them.
Peachy Hain,
MSN, RN,
director of
Medical,
Surgical and
Rehabilitation
Nursing
Services
At Cedars-Sinai, our nurses are proud to
serve as champions of change.
Wendy Fenelon,
BSN, RN, CN III
(right) scrubs
in with Daniel
Saculles, RN, CN
III, in the OR.
”
Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN, FAAN
09
drive
Matters of the Heart
Bernice
Coleman, PhD,
RN, ACNP-BC,
lead nurse
practitioner in
Cedars-Sinai’s
heart transplant
and ventricular
device assistance
program
When acute care nurse practitioner Bernice
Coleman, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, discovered that her
African-American heart transplant patients had
lower survival rates than her Caucasian ones, she
decided to launch a couple of research projects.
The �irst nurse accepted into Cedars-Sinai’s
Clinical Scholars Program, Coleman currently
has a grant from the National Institutes of Health
to study whether in�lammatory genes may be
responsible for the difference in heart transplant
survival rates between African-American and
Caucasian patients.
In her previous post-doctoral pilot project at
Cedars-Sinai’s Histocompatibility Laboratory,
Coleman discovered that differences in
cytokine genes polymorphism among AfricanAmericans and Caucasians were linked to the
well-documented discrepancy in survival rates
between the two ethnic groups.
“People used to say that African-Americans
have worse survival rates because they are
uneducated, don’t show up to clinic, don’t have
access to care or don’t see the doctor,” Coleman
says. “This research shows there are genetic
differences in these two groups and may well
begin to answer the survival question.”
Coleman, who was instrumental in establishing
Cedars-Sinai’s ventricular assistance device
program for people who are not heart transplant
candidates, manages to balance her deep
interest in science with a passion for patient care.
“In the practice of what I do as an Advanced
Practice Nurse, I’m constantly confronted with
questions such as ‘why did that happen to this
person and not another?’” Coleman says.
“Nursing provides an opportunity to apply
science to the caring of patients.”
Coleman, who started her career as a nurse’s
aide in Connecticut, received her master’s
degree from Yale Nursing School before she
came to Cedars-Sinai in 1987 to work as a clinical
nurse specialist in cardiac surgery. She earned a
doctorate from UCLA’s School of Nursing in 1999
and is now the lead nurse practitioner in CedarsSinai’s heart transplant and ventricular device
assistance programs.
safety proven leadership quality compassion
UsInG reseArCh ^ teChnoloGy
to ensUre the Best CAre
Cedars-sinai is committed to
advancing medicine through
innovative research and new
technology and is dedicated to
bringing these innovations to the
bedside. As our scientists break
new ground in medical research
and scientific study, our nurses are
on the front lines putting these
discoveries into practice. they are
also engaged in their own research,
making discoveries of their own
that also advance medical care at
Cedars-sinai and beyond.
eleCtronIC PAtIent reCorDs
our nurses were first to adopt Cs-link™, an
electronic medical record system that improves
access to patient information across the continuum
of care, with the goal of “one patient, one record.”
All of our inpatient nursing units, the medical staff,
the Medical Group, the emergency Department,
Intensive Care Units, Pharmacy and Finance
are now using the system, which also has a related
program, called My Cs-link™, to help patients
manage their own care.
BAr CoDe MeDICAtIon
A new system launched in 2011 adds another level
of protection for Cedars-sinai patients by providing
further verification that they are receiving the
correct medication and dosage.
Upon admission, every Cedars-sinai patient
receives an ID wristband imprinted with a
barcode. All medication orders carry the patient’s
barcode and are checked against the patient’s
wristband before dispensing.
worKForCe sCheDUlInG systeM
Introduced in 2011, the workforce scheduling system
not only gives staff members more control over their
schedule but also facilitates the equitable distribution
of extra shifts. the technology allows staff to access their
schedule from home, to request time off and exchange
days off and to bid for extra shifts in a way that rotates
the allocation in a fair and equitable process.
MoBIle-BAseD teChnoloGy
Cedars-sinai nursing is dedicated to using innovation
to improve the patient experience, including the
use of mobile-based technology at the point of care.
nurses use iPhones instead of pagers to speed up
response times to patients and bedside alarms. the
phones allow nurses to receive immediate updates on a
patient’s vital signs and provide them with on-the-spot
communication with doctors, pharmacists and others
involved in patient care.
the iPhones are integrated with Cs-link, Cedarssinai’s state-of-the-art electronic healthcare record
technology, which includes bar-coding features that
ensure all medications and dosages are linked to the
correct patients and that vital sign recordings are
automatically sent into a patient’s medical chart.
Cedars-sinai provides nurses with extensive training
and hands-on experience on the system, which not
only prevents medical errors, but also frees up nurses
for more direct patient care.
Millicent de
Jesus, MSN,
RN-BC (left),
Education
Program
Coordinator,
demonstrates
the bar code
medication
system with
Mary Nhieu,
BSN, RN-BC,
CN IV
CentrAl CArDIAC
MonItorInG Center
Cedars-sinai opened its new Central Cardiac
Monitoring Center in July 2011. the center allows
nursing personnel to monitor all telemetry and stepdown patients across the organization in one area,
including the cardiac, medical and surgical units.
“
Nursing provides an opportunity
to apply science to the caring of patients.
”
Bernice Coleman, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC
11
care dedication inspiration integrity passion
oUr MIssIon ^ vIsIon
the mission of Cedars-sinai nursing
is to develop and provide excellent
evidence-based clinical care for
patients and the communities it
serves. Cedars-sinai is committed
to diversity in its nursing staff and
respects the values and beliefs of
its nurses, staff members, patients
and larger community. Cedarssinai sustains its nursing workforce
by conducting, disseminating and
translating research to improve
care and services to patients and by
attracting and providing financial
support for nursing development,
research and service.
(l-r) Daniel
Saculles, RN,
CN III, OR/
Anesthesia,
and Wendy
Fenelon,
BSN, RN,
CN III, OR/
Anesthesia
MD-rn CollABorAtIve
the MD-rn Collaborative empowers nurses to
exercise their voice in healthcare matters by fostering
communication between nurses and physicians in
order to improve patient care and staff satisfaction.
MD-rn Collaborative groups meet monthly
to discuss issues of common interest to
doctors and nurses and to develop action
plans to address them. MD-rn Collaborative
initiatives that are now woven into everyday
nursing practices at Cedars-sinai include:
» sBAr (situation, Background, Assessment,
recommendation), a successful model of
communication that ensures safe and complete
exchanges of information during patient “handoffs” from one department to another.
» talk to Me, a program that empowers night
shift nurses to make decisions, to avoid nighttime
phone calls to physicians to clarify orders.
Brawerman nursing Institute to help expand
the supply of skilled nurses working in the los
Angeles area. thanks to generous operational
and endowed grant funds, the Institute is able
to offer financial assistance and free education
programs to Cedars-sinai’s employees.
the Institute offers advanced training in
several specialized areas for nurses who want to
become advanced practice nurses including nurse
practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and certified
nurse midwives. training is offered in the following
specialty areas: acute care, critical care, emergency
care, neonatal care, nurse midwifery, oncology,
operating room subspecialties and care for specific
populations such as seniors, children and adults.
sPeCIAlty CertIFICAtIons
with the support of the Brawerman Institute’s robust
educational program for experienced nurses, Cedarssinai’s nursing staff is among the most highly trained
in the nation. More than half (56%) of Cedars-sinai’s
direct care nurses have a specialty certification
while 86% have earned a Bsn or master’s degree.
ADvAnCeD PrACtICe nUrses
the number of nurse Practitioners, Clinical
nurse specialists and Certified nurse Midwives—
collectively known as Advanced Practice nurses—has
consistently increased at Cedars-sinai over the last
several years. As of 2011, Cedars-sinai employed
more than 175 Advanced Practice nurses, who each
hold a master’s or a doctoral degree and passed
a certification examination for their specialty.
Cedars-Sinai
Nursing Excellence
MISSION,
VISION, VALUES
GerI ^ rIChArD BrAwerMAn
nUrsInG InstItUte
Part of being a healthcare leader is serving the
community by looking out for its future. In 2002,
Cedars-sinai founded the Geri and richard
12
&
N T
IO EN
T
A PM
UC LO
ED VE
DE
Q
RE
SE
E B A RC
P
H
PATIENT
FAMILY
UA
PR LIT
TY
O AC YNI
UT T SA
U
C IC FE
M
O E
M
M & TY
ES
CO
MAGNET MODEL
COMPONENTS
SUSTAINABILITY
while a passion for nursing comes from the heart,
mental stimulation allows a nurse to truly excel and
lead the profession. Cedars-sinai is committed to
lifelong learning and provides nurses with exceptional
resources to advance their skills and to earn academic
degrees and specialty certifications. Cedars-sinai’s
culture of continual learning is often cited as one of
the best benefits of working here. that philosophy is
supported by a wide range of educational offerings to
support nurses at every stage of their development.
RELIABILITY
eDUCAtIon ^ trAInInG
Margo B.
Minissian,
MSN, RN,
ACNP-BC
Cardiology
Nurse
Practitioner
patient-driven quality integrity compassion
Supporting Career Development
Being a nurse at Cedars-sinai means continually
growing and learning. In addition to the specialty
training that the Brawerman Institute offers,
Cedars-sinai has a number of additional programs
to inspire nurses to pursue and fulfill their
educational and professional goals. Among them:
« Collaborative Nursing Education » the nursing
Institute is affiliated with 12 schools and healthcare
facilities through its Collaborative nursing
education Program. As part of the program, the
nursing Institute partners with UClA’s graduate
program to provide clinical faculty and western
Governors University for its pre-licensure
Bachelors of science in nursing Program.
Gregory
Eichelzer, MSN,
RN, CN IV, a
Rising Star
participant
« Professional Nursing Advancement » Cedars-sinai
provides numerous ongoing clinical advancement
opportunities to nurses based on demonstrated
knowledge and leadership skills, as well as the
ability to communicate effectively and efficiently
while being accountable for managing patient
care outcomes. About 2,000 nurses have used
these programs to advance up the clinical
ladder from one level to the next — to manager,
director and clinical coordinator positions.
« Rising Stars » this newly launched yearlong
program provides leadership training to Cn
IIIs who want to advance up the clinical ladder.
nurses accepted into the interactive program
spend about eight hours a month attending
presentations, participating in classroom
activities and completing a leadership project.
« Nursing Residency » this full-time employment
opportunity gives graduate nurses hands-on, clinical
14
honor
Sharing the Journey
onlIne eDUCAtIon
Cedars-sinai has partnered with
western Governors University to
allow nurses to take courses online,
which are supplemented with
clinical simulations and intensives
supervised by onsite clinical coaches
and instructors. the university offers
a pre-licensure program for the
Bachelor of science in nursing and
is the first online, competency-based
bachelor’s degree program for nursing
in the nation.
Joy Pakkianathan,
RN, MSN, AOCN
Clinical Nurse
Specialist, Cancer
Center
experience and training in patient care at Cedarssinai. the program provides nursing residents with
monthly continuing education sessions and 14 weeks
of preceptored training in a medical/surgical unit
before they are placed in permanent assignments.
nurses accepted into the residency program make
a two-year work commitment to Cedars-sinai.
« End-of-Life Champions » this 25-year-old program,
the longest running of its kind in los Angeles,
educates nurses about caring for patients and families
facing end-of-life challenges. Coordinated by Palliative
Care, the program gives nurses focused training
to help them provide the specialized support that
families and patients need when faced with the dying
process. Cedars-sinai also has a 20-hour continuing
education course to assist nurses in providing
excellent customized care for elderly patients.
« Mentorships/Preceptorships » serving as both
educators and role models, mentors and
preceptors help solidify close ties among nurses
and ensure that patients receive the highest
quality care. About 2,000 nurses participate in
preceptor and mentoring programs for nursing
students, recent nursing graduates in residency
programs, new or experienced nurses transferring
into a specialty program and interns or new
employees coming to work at Cedars-sinai.
« Nursing Practice Forums/Grand Rounds » these
quarterly nursing practice forums with the Chief
nursing officer and other senior Cedars-sinai leaders
give nurses an opportunity to hear from the hospital’s
leadership, physicians and other medical professionals
about a wide range of relevant healthcare issues.
« Taking Charge Workshop » this quarterly
education program helps nurses acquire the
organizational and human resources skills
required of clinical charge nurses. It is designed to
enhance management, leadership and decisionmaking abilities, as well as critical thinking,
problem-solving and communication skills.
« Nursing Internships » Cedars-sinai provides
new nursing school graduates with three to six
month internships in critical care, emergency
nursing, neonatal intensive care, labor and
delivery, peri-operative and post procedure
care among others. the internships include
classes and a 12-week preceptorship with
an experienced medical surgical nurse.
When Joy Pakkianathan,
MSN, RN, CNS, AOCN,
graduated from nursing
school in 1992, jobs for
inexperienced nurses were
so scarce that she agreed
to take a day shift nursing
position on the oncology
�loor despite worries that
she wouldn’t be comfortable
taking care of dying patients.
And then Joy met Dolores,
a grandmother with newly
diagnosed, advanced stage
ovarian cancer on her �irst
admittance to the hospital.
Over the next 10 months, Joy
administered Dolores’ �irst
chemotherapy treatment,
cared for her when she had
complications, comforted
her after her hysterectomy
and �inally helped ful�ill her
wish to die at home with her
family after holding her new
grandbaby.
“After she died, her family
thanked me for the care I
gave her, but I kept thinking
I should be thanking them
for what I got out of the
relationship,” Joy says.
“Caring for a patient with
end-stage cancer is a very
intimate experience because
they allow you into their lives
at their most vulnerable time
and are open to your being
with them on their journey.”
Now an Oncology Clinical
Nurse Specialist at the
Samuel Oschin Cancer
Center, Joy shares what she
has learned over the years
about the special rigors of
cancer nursing in training
sessions with the center’s
nurses, about 80% of whom
are certi�ied in oncology
nursing.
care proven inspiration integrity compassion
» CeDArs-sInAI MeDICAl
Center DePArtMent oF nUrsInG
8700 Beverly Boulevard
los Angeles, California 90048
» GerI & rIChArD BrAwerMAn
nUrsInG InstItUte
8700 Beverly Boulevard
north tower room 2021
310.423.5177
» nUrsInG reCrUItMent
cedars-sinai.edu/careers
800.795.nurs
nurses@cshs.org
Marc Maraon,
RN-BC
Service Line
Manager, Nursing
Services