According to Tiffany Lang, BSN, RN, NE-BC, Clinical Nurse Manager of the Cleveland Clinic Medical Intensive Care Unit, the road to a fulfilling nursing career at Cleveland Clinic is not just about opportunities – it’s about flexibility and empowerment, as well. This is reflected in the support nursing students and new nurses receive from the experienced caregivers they work alongside.

One PRN position that Tiffany’s team often utilizes is that of a Clinical Technician. Experienced nurses have the opportunity not only to mentor and coach these new caregivers as they begin their healthcare career journey, but the nurses also receive support in caring for patients, flexibility in their schedules, relief in their workload, an opportunity to form caregiver relationships and more.

Support from the nursing staff
The vast majority of nurses on Tiffany’s floor onboard newly graduated nurses, a practice that has gone on for several years and has become the industry standard.

At three months out of orientation, new nurses on Tiffany’s floor are assigned a preceptor, as an ongoing component of the supportive environment. “Our dynamic is to make sure our department is doing a good job in development training,” she says. “We want to ensure that new nurses are safe and capable coming out of orientation, and we are going to support them into excellence.

“The more excited the students are, the more questions they ask, the more this team rallies around them.”

Relief for the Nursing Staff
The benefits go both ways, according to Tiffany. While the students are gaining experience on the unit, they are also providing some relief to the nursing staff.

“The PRN Clinical Technicians do a fantastic job with workload relief and allowing nurses to take time off,” Tiffany says. “The students come in and are so inquisitive and excited to be a part of the team. They often want to engage in the quality projects and drive a lot of those metrics and provide some great feedback.”

Empowering Students
A key goal for nursing students in finding the job that they want – where they can be happy and grow. Tiffany says that this is where Cleveland Clinic nurses help new graduates take charge of their career.

“Our new nurses work with their managers to find the right fit, the right niche,” Tiffany says. “For instance: do you know how to access your resources? Are you choosing a place that has the resources to get you to where you need?

“If you’re looking for a rapid-paced career where you’re going to graduate school very soon, are you working in an organization that supports that? If you are looking for a long-standing bedside career, then you should be looking for quality and excellence, and the kind of programming, and the team, that are going to develop that for you.
“Nursing’s always been one of those very different careers. That’s why we’re good at what we do.”