Professional Development Specialist

The Professional Development Specialist (PDS) utilizes nursing arts and sciences, child development, education, psychosocial, and cultural theories to facilitate the delivery of comprehensive clinical care to patients and families at a systems level. They work independently, and in partnership with multidisciplinary health system teams. The PDS provides expertise in education, educational design, adult learning theory, and scholarly inquiry through the appropriate CHCO professional governance structure. Major role responsibilities include demonstrated leadership in the following: education, clinical practice, consultation, research, publication, fiscal responsibility, and professional development. 

This position's specialty focus will be that of Primary Nurse Planner. The Primary Nurse Planner (PNP) is a licensed registered nurse accountable for the overall functioning of the Approved Provider Unit (APU), provides leadership of the APU and serves as the liaison between Colorado Nurses Association (CNA) and the APU. The PNP is responsible for the administrative and management functions for the APU, as well as accountability for planning, implementing, and evaluating all individual educational nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) activities. The PNP is accountable to the CNA and partners with the Accredited Approver Program Director to ensure consistent adherence with criteria and expectations. 

• Department
  Professional Development
• Position Status
  Full-time, eligible for benefits
• Shift
  Days, Monday-Friday
• Salary Information
  Pay is dependent on applicant's relevant experience.
  Annual Salary Range (Based on 40 hours worked per week): $97,718.13 to $146,577.19
   

Duties & Responsibilities

•  Assesses learning needs, incorporating adult learning principles, engaging learning strategies, and utilizing scholarly inquiry to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate professional development programs and outcomes. 
• Coordinates the assessment, acquisition, evaluation, and management of technology and training equipment. 
• Serves as a nurse planner, designer, and educator for department and system-wide education programs. 
• Collaborates with key stakeholders within the Professional Development governance structure.
• Maintains effective working relationships with internal and external colleagues in the professional development department and across all divisions including senior leadership. 
• Work in partnership with academia and the community to advance curricula and negotiate, plan, coordinate, and evaluate clinical learning experiences for student learners that meet the standards for high quality patient care.
• Consults with key stakeholders in the development, implementation, and evaluation of departmental, divisional, and organizational goals by participating in scientific inquiry activities including problem identification, data collection, monitoring outcomes, and dissemination of results.  

• Acts as a Professional Development role model; demonstrates ongoing commitment to self-assessment and growth as well as provision of support and encouragement for professional development of others.

   

The PNP roles encompass that of leader, advocate, educator, mentor, evaluator, collaborator and learner.

• Leader: The PNP is the Leader of the APU by: 
  • Being accountable for all processes and outcomes of the APU and carrying out leadership roles and functions to support its work.
  • Remaining current on requirements and changes in ANCC accreditation criteria.
  • Ensuring all Nurse Planners (NPs) in the APU hold current valid licenses as RNs with a baccalaureate degree or higher in nursing.
  • Ensuring each NCPD activity has a qualified NP who is an active participant in the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating accredited education.
  • Monitoring all APU NPs.
• Advocate: The PNP is a key advocate for the APU by: 
  • Advocating for nursing and championing the value of nursing continuing professional development as a contributor to recruitment and retention of nurses who value practicing within a culture that fosters professional development. 
  • Ensuring compliance with ANCC Accreditation Program criteria.
• Educator: The PNP may serve directly in the educator role or may assist and mentor others in that role by:
  • Utilizing adult learning principles including assessing needs, analyzing gaps in knowledge, skill, or practice, planning and implementing learning activities, and evaluating outcomes of educational activities, especially as related to the organizational goals. 
  • Orienting and educating all APU NPs on ANCC accreditation criteria and APU policies and processes.
  • Educating the APU on changes in ANCC accreditation criteria as they occur. 
  • Being aware of changes in the learning and practice environments that affect learning and learning needs and being supportive of organizational changes that promote implementation of new learning in practice.
• Mentor: The PNP serves as a mentor to other nurses and other healthcare team members by:
  • Advocating for the role of the nurse in promoting quality patient care and mentoring other nurse educators in helping them develop learning activities that will enhance the professional development of nurse learners.
  • Staying current with evidence-based practice and best available evidence from research data and other sources to guide development of educational activities that will facilitate quality-nursing practice.
• Evaluator: The PNP considers the impact of education on professional nursing practice and patient and family outcomes. They engage in evaluation in several ways by:
  • Ensuring evaluation of individual learning activities in which they functioned as the NP.
  • Utilizing data to determine effectiveness of learning activities in achieving its purpose and learning outcomes of individual learning activities in which they functioned as the NP.
  • Reviewing evaluation data from other learning activities conducted by the APU.
  • Assisting other NPs involved in learning activities to evaluate activity merits and opportunities for improvement. 
  • Assuming the primary role in overall evaluation of the APU. The PNP serves as the driver for the evaluation process and involves stakeholders.
• Collaborator: The PNP collaborates within and outside of the organization by:
  • Conducting needs assessments.
  • Facilitating learning that benefits internal and external nurses, and the families served.
• Learner: Keeping up to date is critical to being successful in the role of PNP. The PNP must be a dedicated lifelong learner as evidenced by:
  • An ongoing commitment to their own professional development.
    • Attending nursing continuing professional development education sessions or regional/national conferences for nurse educators. 
    • Learning about new technology and how to incorporate new ways of learning appropriate for the APU target audience. 
    • Maintaining membership in relevant national nursing organizations for provision of personal connections and resource materials to enhance professional growth. 
    • Be familiar with CNA rules regulating NCPD. 
    • Fostering professional development for others.
       

Minimum Qualifications

• Degrees
  • Master of Science in Nursing (MSN); or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with a Master’s degree in Education; or a BSN with a doctorate (ND, DNP or PhD degree) 
• Experience
  • Five (5) years’ clinical and pediatric experience required including clinical teaching experience with nursing students, orientees, patients, and families required and three (3) years of experience with education program development and evaluation
  • Five (5) years of experience in education and knowledge of the functions and expectations of an Approved Provider Unit and the Primary Nurse Planner role preferred.
• Licenses & Certifications
  • Current licensure as a Registered Nurse in the State of Colorado
  • BLS for Healthcare Providers
  • American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) or Magnet approved certification with specialty certification if appropriate

Benefits Information
Here, you matter. As a Children’s Hospital Colorado team member, you will receive a competitive pay and benefits package designed to take care of your needs that includes base pay, incentives, paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, company provided life and disability insurance, paid parental leave, 403b employer match (retirement savings), a robust wellness program, and access to professional development tools, including an education benefit to help you advance your career.

As part of our Total Rewards package, Children's Colorado offers an annual employee bonus program that rewards eligible team members based on organizational performance. If organizational goals are met for the year, the bonus is paid out the following April.

Children’s Colorado delivers annual base pay increases to eligible team members based on their performance over the previous year.


EEO Statement
It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Be aware that none of the questions are intended to imply illegal preferences or discrimination based on non-job-related information. The position is expected to stay open until the posted close date. Please submit your application as soon as possible as the posting is subject to close at any time once a sufficient pool of qualified applicants is obtained. 

Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.