St. Mary's Encourages Professional Development

St. Mary's Medical Center strongly encourages all levels of nursing to develop professionally, and professional growth and development is supported through several offerings:

• Reimbursing fees paid for specialty certification
• Tuition reimbursement
• Providing opportunity for our nurses to participate in the decision making process through shared governance.
• Professional Development Classes offered through Staff Development

Specialty Certification
St. Mary's views obtaining professional certification in your nursing specialty as a commitment to providing the best patient care, and a commitment to making professional development a priority.
The American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC) offers many opportunities for Registered Nurses to obtain a specialty certification and maintain professionalism and competency in their field of specialty.

Professional Development Class
The purpose of this program is to provide the registered nurse with the tools to manage conflict resolution, understand generational differences present in the workplace, and provide information necessary to become a mentor at St. Mary's Medical Center.

Shared Governance
At St. Mary's, we are committed to allowing our nurses to have control over their practice and extend their influence into administrative areas. Nurses have the opportunity to participate in not only hospital wide councils and committees, but also unit based councils and committees.  Our nurses are encouraged to be active participants in the decision making processes that affect them.

The hospital wide councils include:

• Clinical Practice Council
• Clinical Services Nursing Management Council
• Education and Professional Development Council
• Quality and Research Council
• Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition Council