Clinical educators play an important role in the professional development of our nursing staff.
They work in a variety of capacities, including:
Our CNSs are licensed registered nurses who have graduate preparation (master’s or doctorate) in nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Our CNSs are expert clinicians in a specialized area of nursing practice and may be credentialed through a certification exam.
The specialty may be identified in terms of:
SDIs are essential members of our health care team who facilitate learning and professional development. Our SDIs are registered nurses who possess advanced clinical skills and competence in a specialized area and display leadership abilities.
Characteristics of our staff development instructors include:
Mentor
SDIs facilitate staff development and enhance staff professionalism for new and current staff. Our SDIs help new staff transition into new roles. They guide novice nurses in applying knowledge in clinical settings and help them develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Our SDIs also assist established staff members by providing resources and opportunities to develop advanced skills and meet professional goals, such as applying for the Career Development Pathway.
Leader
Our SDIs collaborate with the management team and unit staff leaders to develop unit goals. SDIs encourage personal accountability, participation in decision making, and autonomy through participation in unit- and system-level councils to promote positive change.
Advanced Clinical Expertise
Our SDIs use evidence-based practice knowledge and clinical expertise in a specialty to provide optimal patient care. Our SDIs are role models for collaboration with physicians and other departments and serve as clinical resources for unit and other staff members.
Learning Facilitator
Our SDIs facilitate staff learning by responding to specific requests, monitoring performance improvement initiatives, identifying new procedures or equipment, and identifying new trends in research literature and regulatory requirements. Our SDIs determine the best approach and venue to deliver training based on the expected outcomes of the program and needs of the learner(s).
The Learning Institute is a centralized education department comprised of three areas of concentration: Employee Education and Development, Management and Organization Development, and Patient and Community Education.
The goals of the Learning Institute are to:
The Employee Education and Development division of the Learning Institute has staff educators and two managers who provide education services for UPMC in central Pa.’s orientation and the nursing and clinical orientation.
Our role-specific courses include:
Additionally, we offer advanced content in cardiovascular nursing and collaborate with the nursing department educators for certification review courses in medical-surgical, maternal-child and critical care. Learning Institute educators also support various other courses and in-services that are department- or unit-based. These courses are offered weekly (ECC courses), bi-weekly (orientation), monthly or semi-annually.
The Patient and Community Education division of the Learning Institute is composed of one manager, nurse educators with specialty certifications, and an extensive bank of supplemental community educators representing a wide variety of specialty areas.
Community and internal partnerships are developed to provide education in several areas, including:
This division also provides oversight to affiliated students receiving clinical experiences at UPMC facilities in central Pa. (nursing students, internships, shadow experiences, etc.). This division also facilitates the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association continuing education approval process for UPMC in central Pa.
Learning Institute: 717-221-6250
Continuing Medical Education: 717-231-8724
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