Clinical Academy

St. Patrick Hospital implemented Providence's Clinical Academy programs for nursing residents and fellows in 2017. The program’s goal is to support residents (new nurses with less than one year of experience) and fellows (nurses who are changing their specialty) in their transition to practice at Providence.

The academy has created a full curriculum of classes for residents and fellows. All residents participate in Core Fundamentals, which is a series of six professional development classes taught over the course of the year. Topics include quality, safety, communication, and informatics, to name a few. The course includes an evidence based practice (EBP) activity and concludes with a presentation of all residents’ EBP activities completed over the year and a graduation ceremony.

Fellows and residents also participate in a specialty curriculum, specific to their area of practice. St. Pat’s offers specialty curricula in med/surg/tele, critical care, emergency, perinatal, oncology, neuro/ortho and perioperative nursing. Curricula are thoughtfully designed to engage learners, and include presentations, case studies, simulation activities, online learning and lots of class discussion. Instructors include St. Pat’s educators, as well as subject matter experts from throughout the hospital, including experienced bedside nurses.

Because preceptors are an integral part of a resident’s or fellow’s transition to practice, the Clinical Academy has also developed a preceptor curriculum that includes online and classroom learning.

The Providence Clinical Academy Transition into Practice program is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) through the Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP).