 Good Samaritan taps
community partners to raise career ladder
How successful has Baltimore’s Good Samaritan Hospital
been in establishing a “foundation of learning” as the
organization’s underlying culture? Remarkably so, judging by Director of
Professional Development Stacey Brull’s use of “phones ringing off
the hook” and “snowball effect” in describing the past
year’s progress toward this goal.
Good Samaritan’s expanded emphasis on education as the
path to greater patient satisfaction and increased quality of care has taken
the form of a career ladder for professional nursing. The structure has two
main components. The first consists of education programs offered
on-site—for staff and community residents who want to begin a nursing
career by training as a clinical nursing assistant (CNA), and an RN-to-BSN
program. The second is made up of two learning centers—one a clinical
simulation center, where educators demonstrate technical skills, and the other
an “e-learning” center, which is particularly important for program
participants who don’t have a computer at home.
Brull explains that the tremendous level of interest in the
CNA program leads to lots of phone calls. And, successful—and
motivated—participants can take the next step on the ladder and work
toward becoming RNs, through a program the hospital has jointly created with
Baltimore’s Coppin State College. That level of interest, along with the
enthusiasm of the RNs who are working toward their BSNs, has created the
educational snowball effect. “The impact on morale has been
tremendous,” says Brull. “Now we get calls from lab technicians and
unit secretaries asking what kind of course they can take.”
The entry-level CNA program was launched with a $55,444
grant from the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation, which supports innovative
programs in local schools, hospitals, and human service agencies that reach out
to the disadvantaged. While both foundation and hospital staff are delighted by
the enthusiastic response to the program (and to the subsequent addition of the
RN component), Brull offers a cautionary note to those thinking of creating a
similar effort: “It’s a very labor-intensive process with a number of
obstacles that may not be recognized in the initial planning.”
She explains that these range from the challenge of clearing
Tuesdays for classes when CNAs typically work five weekdays, to the need to
refresh English and math skills when most participants graduated from high
school 10 or 15 years ago. In addition, purchasing several hundred
dollars’ worth of books can be difficult for CNAs. “Buying their
books might take a third of their paycheck, while they also have to feed their
families,” notes Brull.
So far, there have been 45 participants in the CNA program,
and 25 of these have started in the RN program. Good Samaritan is taking a
breather and not accepting new candidates this fall, as the program’s ups
and downs get hammered out. “We’ve learned a lot from the challenges
of the pilot group; the next round will be easier, since we’ll have a
better idea of what is needed for success, ” Brull says.
That is not to say that Good Samaritan isn’t currently
moving forward on other educational fronts. In response to LPNs asking for a
program, the hospital is now designing an LPN-to-RN program. “That’s
a little more difficult than the RN-to-BSN program,” says Brull. “But
with strong support from my nursing education department, we’re working on
it.”
Contact:
Stacey Brull
Director of Professional
Development
Good Samaritan Hospital
Phone: 410-532-4758
E-mail:
Stacey.brull@medstar.net
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