Support the heart of our health system
Every day, UHealth nurses extend their impact far beyond the bedside, leading in research, education, and clinical excellence to advance our mission. Their work transforms the patient experience, improves outcomes, and defines the future of nursing.
Donate TodayTo strengthen our nursing workforce and support our mission of transforming lives through teaching, research, and patient care, nursing leadership launched a major redesign of our Professional Development division. Developed in partnership with the Clinical Excellence Committee, nurse specialists and educators, and frontline nurses, this transformation provides the structure, resources and alignment needed to advance nursing excellence across the health system.
The new model is built around three key pillars, including Professional Development & Education; Quality, Research & Accreditation; and Transitions to Practice. Each pillar is designed to elevate clinical competency, support seamless care delivery and strengthen opportunities for professional growth.
To better meet the diverse needs of our nurses, we also adopted a service line-centric approach, creating tailored programs for ambulatory, critical care, and oncology teams. Additionally, nurse residents and new nurse leaders now benefit from a unified and supportive onboarding and training experience through our fully integrated transition-to-practice programs.
While in the early stages of implementation, the Center of Clinical Excellence has received positive praise and continues to build a strong foundation for long-term nursing success, continuous improvement, and improved patient outcomes. In the last year, we have mobilized five research projects through the Institutional Review Board and had a record number of nurses attend our live learning needs assessment sessions, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to gathering bedside voices to drive practice.
As this work continues, nursing leadership remains committed to expanding opportunities for professional growth and strengthening our academic-practice partnerships. Key priorities for the year ahead include:
- Launching a new nurse leader program to empower our managers and assistant nurse managers to lead with confidence and competence.
- Expanding partnerships with the School of Nursing & Health Studies to support hands-on learning and greater policy usability testing.
- Growing our Lean Six Sigma cohorts to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence across the health system.
Collectively, these initiatives reinforce our dedication to supporting every nurse in delivering exceptional, evidence-based care.