Jean B. Seaver, MSN, RN,
By Jean B. Seaver, MSN, RN, and Sara Turpel
The relationship between healthcare systems and colleges, particularly when they are in close proximity, is a win for hospitals, students, and the community. A perfect example is the partnership between Broward Health and Broward College. These are two longtime institutions that are committed to and continue to serve and uplift the community.
Sara Turpel
There are several factors that make a partnership like the one between Broward Health and Broward College thrive:
Collaboration: Broward Health nursing leaders and Broward College nursing faculty continuously collaborate, working closely to elevate students by having access to clinical placement for practical experiences. That’s what will ensure success for future nurses. Even then, it takes clinical coaches in the clinical setting to teach newly graduated nurses how to fully assimilate. Hands-on experiences mean they can integrate what they have learn in real-time; develop critical thinking skills; and learn how to react, anticipate patient needs, understand medications, and communicate, particularly with patients and their loved ones. This collaborative relationship was evident particularly during COVID-19. When Broward Health opened large-scale community vaccine sites, Broward College faculty and students volunteered to serve the overwhelming number of residents visiting the sites for the vaccines. This was a unique, invaluable learning experience where students had the opportunity to work side-by-side with healthcare professionals during an unprecedented health crisis.
Close to home: Many Broward College nursing students live, work, and have families locally. Through the Broward Health partnership, those students can apply for nurse “extern” positions, keeping them close to home and paid on a per diem basis. During their externship, they are immersed in a professional atmosphere under the direction of healthcare and clinical coaches who guide them through practical, hands-on immersive experiences as they put into practice what they’ve learned in the classroom. This also gives Broward Health the opportunity to build a stronger workforce, recruiting talent to fill positions following graduation.
Opportunities: In addition to nursing, Broward Health offers other opportunities in areas of healthcare that may be of interest to Broward College students. This includes related majors such as allied health sciences, information technology, biomedical engineering, finance, and more because everyone in the healthcare system touches the patient in some way. Broward College also provides the opportunity for Broward Health employees to return to school, close to home, to take classes that advance their careers.
Fulfillment: Most companies and organizations post-COVID have faced challenges, many relating to staffing. The good news locally is that at least 25% of Broward College nursing students find employment in a Broward Health facility. What makes a career in nursing compelling is that they are driven by a sense of purpose. They are connected to something bigger, giving back, making a difference, and contributing to the profession and to the well-being of the community.
Together we can encourage nursing students and others to find their place in the healthcare sector and also be creative in keeping nurses at our hospitals. There is stability, growth, and value in establishing a career in healthcare where you live, go to school and where you have established roots in the community. Broward Health and Broward College will continue to encourage that mindset.
Jean B. Seaver, MSN, RN, is Broward Health Associate Vice President, Department of Learning & Development. Sara Turpel is Dean, Nursing Administrator, Broward College.
