Nemours Brings Nursing Opportunities to Florida
The brand new 387 million dollar Nemours Children’s Hospital (NCH) in Lake Nona on the southern tip of Orlando, FL is located on 60 acres with new technology, advanced equipment, spacious facilities, and an environment for growth. The hospital officially opened in October and currently has more than 750 employees with a growth projection of over 850 employees by the end of the year.
The Children’s hospital specializes in treating children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses, however the attached clinic provides daily out-patient services and the fully-equipped emergency department is staffed and prepared. This makes the third pediatric hospital operating in Central Florida, providing services to the more than 250,000 estimated area children.
Located in Medical City, the hospital has the University of Central Florida Health Sciences Campus, the Sanford-Burham Medical Research Institute, the VA Medical Center, the University of Florida Academic and Research Center, and MD Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Institute as on-campus neighbors. This cluster of new high-tech teaching and research facilities provide tremendous opportunities for learning and growth in the medical field. The Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) establishes a new approach to education which allows all aspects and people involved to interact and provide the best medical treatment and services. There are doctors and nurses at the hospitals who will be teaching at the Universities. The research facilities are able to get direct feedback from active medical personnel and medical personnel are able to explore all aspects of the field of medicine with many varying internship, residential and career opportunities.
With over 4700 employees, Nemours has a great deal of experience hiring and educating nurses. Their nursing programs offer a wide range of continuing education credits. Initially, the Nemours Children’s hospital (NCH) will offer services in over 180 different areas of specialization. These areas of pediatric medicine include infectious diseases, hematology, bone tumors, scoliosis, rheumatology, and skeletal dysplasia; some of which have never been available in Central Florida. This is only the beginning as the Nemours foundation already has plans to expand the hospital facilities by adding an additional tower which will double the patient bed capacity from its current 95. Also included in the future plans are expansions to the available services such as being able to offer pediatric transplant services.
As the hospital continues to offer many specialized medical services, they will need to hire more nurses with advanced nursing degrees and multiple nursing specializations including pediatrics. Nurses with specializations have completed continuing education credits, examinations and many hours of in-service training. Nurses are required to maintain their nursing certifications as well as their specialty certifications as outlined by the state licensing boards and nursing organizations such as the American Nursing Association and the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation.
The Nemours nursing program is “firmly grounded in science, based on national standards and tailored to the individual needs of each child family”. One of the ways to show the commitment to quality nursing is to strive to achieve Magnet Status. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nursing Association (ANA), has established The Magnet Recognition Program as the “ultimate credential for high quality nursing”. Just like the original Nemours Foundation hospital in Delaware, Alfred I. Dupont, the nursing division at NCH is committed to achieve Magnet Status. This is a multi-year process with an on-going evaluative and evolving cycle of change to consistently improve the nursing environment and services provided by nurses.
Nemours Children’s hospital, along with the other medical facilities located in Medical City has just begun to provide a multitude of opportunities for nurses. The job market looks strong for well-educated experienced nurses with advanced degrees and the availability for internships and residencies for young up and coming nurses. Nemours is ready to hire nurse in Central Florida boasting an average incoming salary of $60,000+ for nurses with the right qualifications and attitude.