Clinical Ladder

At RCH our Nursing Clinical Ladder promotes, recognizes and rewards excellence in clinical practice and professionalism of nursing staff. It promotes exceptional bedside nursing patient care and clinical participation in the areas of leadership, continuing education, and evidence based practice participation; and champions the recruitment and retention of qualified registered nurses.

RCH is committed to customer service and nursing excellence standards, as such, we believe ongoing education and certification will result in improved patient care and outcomes. Therefore, the Nursing department in collaboration with Human Resources has established a program to celebrate the bedside nurse and to provide advancement for exceptional clinical nurses to remain at the bedside.

Progression on the clinical ladder is attained through higher education and certification in area of specialty. The highest rung of the clinical ladder is the Nurse Mentor. The Professional Practice Congress, composed of bedside nurses and nursing leadership, chose the title Nurse Mentor to emphasize the supportive and communicative aspects of the role. A Nurse Mentor has exceptional clinical skills, is certified in his/her area of specialty, actively participates in performance improvement, is a role model for other staff members and engages in community activities. The Nurse Mentor is the best of the best.