Exemplary Professional Practice

Every day, MultiCare nurses exemplify the professional practices that deliver exceptional experiences for our patients and nurses — demonstrating their commitment to lifelong learning and dedication to the most trusted profession in the U.S.

In addition to the program accomplishments described in the next few pages, professional practice successes and highlights include:

• Driving substantial improvements in hospital-acquired conditions, including several months with no urinary tract (CAUTI) or bloodstream (CLABSI) infections, and a reduction to 2.18 percent in blood culture contamination at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital.
• Growing the number of nurses with specialty certifications (45 percent) and celebrating Certified Nurses Day systemwide.
• Supporting the expansion of Meds-to-Beds — which brings medications to patients’ bedsides before discharge — by activating the program during admission.
• Holly VanDyk, RN, MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, receiving LifeCenter Northwest’s LifeSaver Award for being “a miracle worker with families in grief” and helping make a rescheduled donation successful, saving three lives.
• Collaborating with departments throughout the system. We could not provide the full scope of care without the support and partnership of patient-facing support services and nonclinical teams throughout MultiCare.

Supporting nurses to practice at the top of their license

Jamie M. Emery, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CEN, CFRN, Program Manager, RN Residency and Preceptor

Rachel Radenkovic, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, NPD-BC, Program Manager, Evidence-Based Practice, Advocacy & Policy

Robin Petersen, MSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM, NPD-BC, Program Manager, Nursing Continuing Education

Guided by visionary nursing leaders and a dynamic 10-year strategic plan, MultiCare continues to develop a culture that empowers nurses to own their professional practice. Nurses are teachers, consultants and members of interdisciplinary teams.

2023 was a strong year for nurse-led programs that supported exceptional, science-based and compassionate care. We’re proud to highlight several successes that helped nurses practice at the top of their license, apply evidence to daily practice, and positively impact patients, families and communities.

Transition to Practice program accreditation

Many health care systems aspire to achieve ANCC Magnet® recognition, but few actually achieve it. The ANCC Magnet Model is a foundational guide for nursing excellence and exemplary practice.

We earned our first ANCC recognition in 2023: accreditation from ANCC’s Practice Transition Accreditation Program for our RN Transition to Practice (TTP) program.

The accreditation recognizes the vital importance of TTP, which welcomes new acute care nurses into the profession. The program offers a cohort model with structured evidence-based training, clinical experiences, mentorship and support. The goal is to ensure nurses gain valuable skills and confidence in delivering quality patient care — and to foster a questioning mindset.

The program has a first-year retention rate of 96 percent.

No One Dies Alone — Schwartz Center National Compassionate Caregivers Award

When COVID-19 lockdown measures were implemented to safeguard against the virus’s spread, there was uncertainty about how health care workers and families would cope with the emotional burden of loved ones passing away in isolation.

The Inland Northwest’s No One Dies Alone (NODA) team was driven to transform the COVID-19 end-of-life experience and ensure no one faced their final moments alone.

Nurses and educators from MultiCare Valley Hospital developed a curriculum and implemented an end-of-life program to cultivate champions throughout our Inland Northwest region. Wellness partners and spiritual caregivers established a space for debriefing and critical conversations. After years of effort, the council successfully created an end-of-life experience aligned with the shared values of MultiCare.

The No One Dies Alone program received an honorable mention from the Schwartz Center National Compassionate Caregivers of the Year Award: “(The program) reminds us that compassionate care thrives because of caregivers like you who infuse empathy and compassion into their care for patients, families and colleagues.”

Evidence-based practice playbook and monthly challenge

Evidence-based practice (EBP) and inquiry is a fundamental pillar of exemplary practice that improves quality of care, patient outcomes and workplace culture. EBP allows nurses to quickly incorporate the best available research — along with clinical experience and patient preference — into clinical practice so they can make informed patient-care decisions.

But the demand for EBP support exceeded resources in 2023. Rachel Radenkovic, EBP program manager, built a step-by-step toolkit to identify a practice gap, locate and evaluate research, and work toward implementation and practice change.

To keep EBP top of mind for nurses, we launched a monthly five-minute challenge that introduces a new set of questions or activities each month to spread the word about EBP concepts and available resources. The challenge is distributed via newsletter and email, and all nurses are encouraged to participate. In the first five months, the EBP challenge received over 350 responses.

EBP is also integrated into the RN Transition to Practice program, setting expectations with new nurses that EBP should be part of their practice. Jonathan Walter, RN, was a TTP resident whose EBP study helped identify best practices for reducing length of stay after hip fractures. His hard work shed light on the pivotal role nurses play in promoting collaboration across multiple specialties. And his recommendations have the potential to transform care for hip fracture patients and minimize their post-fracture hospitalization stays.

Nursing Assistant Training program (NAR to NAC)

Health care programs are often expensive and demanding, requiring students to cut back on paid work to complete their studies. MultiCare launched a nursing assistant training program, or NAR to NAC, to prepare NACs to function within their scope of practice in a hospital setting.

MultiCare-employed students are paid for time spent in the classroom, skills labs and precepted clinical hours on an inpatient hospital unit. MultiCare provides financial support for students’ state registration, testing and initial certification fees.

Nursing assistant students receive a combination of teaching modalities, including classroom time and multiple skills days, before they start their precepted clinical hours in the hospital. They learn at least 22 skills, ranging from handwashing to ambulating patients.

Students then return to the training lab to practice their skills and prepare for their final state-required skills test. After passing a written exam proctored by a third-party organization, the (now former) students join the MultiCare workforce as fully trained NACs.

The program supported six cohorts in 2023 and continues to grow. Students are supported and mentored by registered nurses — Simona Popovici and Kristy Hill in the Puget Sound region, Kimberlee Hill in the Inland Northwest region, and a soon-to-be filled position in the Yakima region.

Popovici shared that being in the classroom and teaching brings her joy: “Seeing each student’s progression from day one to being so successful at the end is so rewarding,” she says.

The Washington State Board of Nursing provides an outline for nine required learning units, which MultiCare’s program instructors used to created curriculum for lecture slides and planned learning activities. The team introduced many creative ideas, each of which had to be approved by the state to ensure it met their guidelines.

The team’s director, Mona Bontemps, appreciates how the instructors put their personal touch into the program. One example is creating gift bags for cohort graduates with thoughtful tokens of appreciation — practical items like lip balm, lotion and essential oils.

“NACs can struggle to feel their value,” Popovici says. “We wanted them to know we appreciate them and all of their hard work.”

“As instructors, we have worked collaboratively with unit leadership to promote a welcoming and supportive environment for the new learners,” Hill adds.

In the future, they’d like to have a preceptor course for CNAs at MultiCare.

These instructors go above and beyond to ensure our nursing assistant students feel seen, supported and appreciated. And leading the program has promoted their own professional development.

“I love to watch them interact with our students,” Bontemps says. “It’s been so cool to watch this whole program evolve. They have such pride in the program.”