Nursing
Perhaps no other staff members have as much impact on the quality of the patient experience than nurses. They make up the largest number of clinicians in our organization. Their fingers rest on the pulse of patient care. And time and again, they are the caregivers whose skills and bedside manner set the course for a person’s journey back to health.
Nurses are the backbone of our hospital system. It is no wonder we have made nursing care excellence one of our top priorities. Nursing quality equals quality of care. Research proves it. Patients have known it all along.
The human side of care: If anyone represents the face of our health care system, it is the Baylor nurse. No other clinician spends more time with our patients. We are acutely aware of their value to Baylor. We are working to achieve ANCC-Magnet designation, the gold standard in nursing excellence at every hospital in the health care system. Moreover, our shared governance model involves nurses at all levels of decision-making. And we have invested heavily in career development programs to create a cadre of nurses with higher degrees, which directly impacts patient outcomes. Baylor nurses hold the future of medicine in their hands. And they are treating it with extra care.
Areas of Need
ADVANCING NURSING EXCELLENCE
It takes highly educated registered nurses on the full-time staff to maintain nursing excellence. Increasing the number of bachelor-degreed nurses by just 10 percent can improve patient outcomes and decrease the mortality rate by 5 percent. With the U.S. facing a shortage of 1 million registered nurses by 2020, it is critical that we increase the number of highly educated nurses.
NURSE-INITIATED RESEARCH STUDIES
Nurses at Baylor are curious and inventive, continually seeking ways to move the practice forward. Research is the springboard for best practices. There are 90 nursing research studies in process at Baylor, covering the full spectrum of health care issues, from increasing patient satisfaction to healthy work environments.
NURSING LEADERSHIP
Nurses have a keen desire to act as full partners in patient care, collaborating with other health care leaders and professionals. Engaging our nurses in decisions about practices not only develops their leadership skills, but also improves patient outcomes. Several unique programs help us develop nurse leaders, including the Nurse Executive Fellowship Program at SMU, a rigorous 12-month program that prepares aspiring nursing leaders to assume higher levels of leadership. This program is part of our nursing succession plan for leadership positions and helps us retain high-potential nursing leaders.
CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND PRACTICE
To keep providing the best care for our patients, nurses must constantly learn about advances in patient care and continually update their skills.
Your contribution can help Baylor Health Care System Foundation fund programs to develop nursing leaders, increase nurse-initiated research, and promote further education; enabling Baylor nurses to be lifelong learners, better equipped to respond to our patients’ changing needs. Please give online or call 214-820-3136 to discuss your gift today.
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facts
Baylor Health Care System employs more than 6,000 nurses and 2,500 nursing assistants.
More than 2,000 nursing students rotated through Baylor in 2010.
In the 1980s, Baylor revolutionized the nursing industry by creating the two-day work schedule.
Three of our hospitals have achieved Magnet status. Less than 6 percent of hospitals nationally have earned this designation.
Today, we have more than 90 nursing research projects underway at 13 hospitals.
By 2020, there will be a shortage of 1 million nurses in the United States.