St. Joseph Health Centre:Annual Report

Promoting a culture of lifelong learning is key to helping us to achieve our Vision of Canada’s Best Community Teaching Hospital. When you provide health care, learning never stops! At St. Joseph’s we are committed to helping our staff and volunteers to gain the skills that they will need to excel in a rapidly evolving healthcare system. By providing innovative on-site continuing education programs, interprofessional skills fairs and through financial assistance and support for on-going professional development, we help our staff to achieve their professional goals while providing exceptional care to the communities we serve.

Our partners in education recognize St. Joe’s as a rich learning environment where the next generation of healthcare professionals can learn the skills and get the experience that they need to succeed. Together we are helping to create a healthcare workforce that is truly committed to clinical excellence and making a difference. And by partnering with the HealthForceOntario, we have helped to ensure successful transitions from student to skilled professional for a growing number of nurses.

Developing our Leaders Through Quality Improvement Training

Last year, St. Joe’s rolled out a leadership development program consisting of six training modules as a way of improving organizational effectiveness: Root Cause Analysis, Building Trust, Influencing with Integrity, Meeting Management, Coaching and Feedback and Lean Operations. Everyone who works in the Health Centre is responsible for patient care, even if they do not work directly in a clinical role. This education program was established at the request of the hospital’s management team with the goal of helping the organization work more effectively by giving all staff a common approach and common vocabulary to resolve challenges and work smarter, not harder.

A measure of how successful we are in achieving our Vision is seen each year in the number of times our staff are recognized for their contribution to training the next generation of health care professionals. We are proud of the following individuals and groups who were recognized for their teaching excellence by the University of Toronto:

Lifelong Learning at Work

Mary Kapetanos began her career in the Emergency Department after obtaining her diploma as a Registered Nurse. Mary is now completing her Masters in Education and already has a host of certifications and professional development activities under her belt.

As her educational path evolves, her career goes hand in hand. Supporting this is Mary’s desire not only to learn, but also to share that learning with others.

“I truly believe in the power of sharing experiences and modeling a passion for continuous professional development. Supporting each other has been pivotal in transitioning lifelong learning from an abstract concept to a shared journey that we have jointly embarked upon.”

This philosophy has been central in her role as the Education Coordinator in the ED and in her current role as the Interim Professional Practice Leader for Nursing. She reinforces to staff the need to continue to evolve as teachers and learners throughout their careers. “One of the benefits of my role is that I have the opportunity to learn with and from my colleagues as we build capacity and inspire one another.”

Through the Health Centre’s educational support programs, employees have the opportunity to develop as professionals and gain skills and tools to assist them in excelling at their jobs.

“The Educational Assistance Fund has greatly assisted my continuing pursuit of excellence both professionally and academically and is one way that as an employee, I can demonstrate my commitment to supporting the organization in achieving its Vision.”

The Health Centre has helped more than 64 new graduate nurses to make the transition from student to competent practitioner through an innovative provincial program supported by HealthForceOntario. This provincial initiative is designed to give new nurses specialized orientation and on-the-job experience following graduation from college or university. Participants are guaranteed a 7 ½ month work placement that transitions to a full-time permanent position.

St. Joseph’s patients and staff benefit from the enthusiasm and commitment to our Mission that these young men and women bring with them.

Easing the Transition from the Classroom to the Emergency Department

Monica Da Silva started as a new graduate in the Emergency Department at St. Joe’s in January, 2008 after doing a pre-grad placement in the Orthopedic Department.

“The Nursing Graduate Guarantee program provides us with time to adapt to the hospital site and to the environment we are working in.

It’s an opportunity to experience and shadow in different areas of the hospital.”

Monica fell in love with the fast paced environment of the Emergency Department at the age of 15 when she was a patient having her tonsils removed. “I was attracted to the clinical side, the idea that what I am doing is helping to save a life.”