Nursing Partners

Statement of Collaboration and Support For Life Long Learning and Education-Service Partnerships

Rush-Copley believes that nurses and prospective nurses must actively engage in ongoing learning.

The rationale for this belief includes the following:

  • Entry-level programs should be considered an educational foundation.  Due to the challenges facing a healthcare today, ongoing education within one’s career path is essential to maintain credibility at the bedside.  This learning emphasis should include the minimum achievement of a baccalaureate degree in addition to continuing and professional educational experiences.
  • At a time when other healthcare professions are embracing graduate education to include the masters and doctoral level for entry into practice, nursing must step forward to maintain sound approaches to care.  This requires advanced preparation.
    In addition, Rush-Copley believes that goals of life-long learning can only be achieved through effective partnerships with our local colleges and universities and academic colleagues including:

Effective partnerships in the new millennium include innovative approaches such as:

  1. Providing on site preceptors and instructors
  2. Offering alternative learning models and clinical opportunities such as outpatient, clinic and community based experiences.
  3. Implementing combined practice teaching models through the use of Rush-Copley staff as adjunct faculty

Effective partnerships also include: 1) Rush-Copley participation on post secondary level advisory committees, 2) Academic partners, 3) Involvement in Research and Development and council efforts at Rush-Copley, 4) Continuing education programming co-developed and facilitated, 5) Elementary and secondary educational partnerships, and 6) Community linkages.

Rush-Copley, in collaboration with our academic partners, strives to support student recruitment into entry-level nursing and other health careers, and educational programs.  Rush-Copley strives to identify, promote, and facilitate potential staff for faculty roles.  Rush-Copley is involved in the development of elementary education, high school and adult learning models of recruitment.

In order to attract and maintain a significant student base, Rush-Copley supports students learning by insisting on positive, supportive and welcoming role models and mentors among all staff.

Our staff recognizes 6 key benefits of student experiences:

  • Keeps us strong at the bedside by enforcing current clinical knowledge
  • Allow us to exchange ideas and experiences
  • Assists in maintaining a current knowledge base and evidence based practice
  • Helps us realize that students will eventually be our peers and care takers
  • Students elevate practice by challenging us to provide and maintain a high standard of nursing practice; allowing us to look at nursing with new and fresh eyes and renewing our personal and professional choices in nursing
  • Provides faculty/student/staff collaboration and problem solving

As a result, staff embrace students on units whole heartedly.  This is demonstrated in many ways such as:

  • Journal Club Involvement
  • Case Conferencing
  • Identifying exciting patient challenges for student involvement
  • Sharing research outcomes
  • Extern and Internship models
  • Welcoming breakfasts and gratitude programs at end of rotations

Rush-Copley nursing leaders support our own staff education in many ways including:

  • Offering a strong tuition reimbursement benefit
  • Providing on-site programs for BSN and MSN
  • Cultivating entry level staff to continue the education process
  • Allowing flexible scheduling to meet school obligations
  • Offering financial compensation for achieving higher education and certification
  • Providing an advancement model which recognizes higher education and certification achievements
  • Accessibility to the Internet and learning resources on site
  • Offering on-site and easily accessible continuing education programs, facilitated via self learning or formal classroom instruction
  • Making available just in time bedside teaching
  • Supporting clinical certification
  • Rush-Copley commits to working aggressively in collaboration with local colleges and universities to support mutual goals for the betterment of practice and education.