Excela Health nurses have many opportunities to participate in professional
development activities designed to advance their knowledge and skills
as a professional, a clinician and a leader. Lifelong learning is recognized
as an important component of one's nursing career and the Excela Health
Nursing Education Department provides many avenues for nurses to participate
in educational programming designed to support growth and development.
At Excela Health, experienced and graduate nurses begin with a robust orientation
that includes four days of classroom orientation followed by an individualized,
preceptor-guided clinical orientation. Graduate nurses are provided additional
support by a Nurse Educator and through mentorship opportunities.
Ongoing professional development activities include live in-services, computer-based
learning, skills lab, competency development, mentoring and coaching.
Ongoing education programs enable the nurse to attain continuing education
(CE) credits required for state licensure.
Nursing Certification
Many of our nurses elect to pursue ongoing, professional education
voluntarily to deepen their knowledge and elevate skills in a given clinical area.
Board certification in nursing allows for a more diverse exchange of ideas
and information and affords the opportunity for Best Practices to arise,
all benefitting patient care. Certified nurses are required to earn continuing
education units and achieve particular numbers of clinical hours to maintain
their certification, which is overseen by the Accreditation Board for
Specialty Nursing Care. Those among our ranks who have pursued certification include:
This recent letter from Terry Walker to the Excela Health Chief Nursing
Officer describes the value he found in pursuing a degree:
I am writing to express my gratitude to you and Excela Health for providing
me with the tuition reimbursement funds that helped make it possible for
me to earn my BSN from Robert Morris University in August 2016. Excela
Health encouraged me to pursue a higher level of education, which I am
grateful for today. Please forward my gratitude to your colleagues at
Excela Health who create these types of programs and opportunities for
its nurses and employees. The generosity of the Excela Health system is
very much appreciated.
Terry J. Walker, BSN, RN, Oncology
Excela Health Nursing Staff
