When Sara Hodge-Garrett was 12, her father suffered a major aneurysm and spent a month in the neurological intensive care unit (ICU) at Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital. It was there that she discovered her calling to be a nurse.
“The level of care I witnessed by the nurses made me say to myself: I want to be nurse someday,” Hodge-Garrett recalls.
Ask any nurse and they’ll say, the “Why?” behind their nursing career is never an issue. It’s the “Where?” that can be harder to discover. Hodge-Garrett’s calling led her to Harris Health System, the public safety-net healthcare system that aligns with her desire to help those in need. It also helps that Harris Health goes above and beyond to support nurses and nursing staff. As the nation recognizes nurse heroes during the Houston Chronicle’s Salute to Nurses, it’s important to recognize Harris Health and its outstanding Nursing Programs.
“When I came here 11 years ago, I’d worked for other organizations,” says Hodge-Garrett, MSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, CPHQ, CNE-n, who began as a stroke nurse and is now a nursing professional development specialist at Harris Health. “However, this is the only organization that when I go home, I always know we’ve done our absolute best to serve the community.”
Searching for the Right Fit to Begin and Make a Difference with Your Nursing Career? Here’s Why Nurses Choose Harris Health
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Mentorship helps determine career paths. We have targeted mentorship programs that reflect a nurse’s individual goals.
Her passion for nursing is infectious. As one of the leaders of Harris Health’s preceptor program, Hodge-Garrett gets to share her passion with the next generation of nurse professionals. Here, every nurse hired at Harris Health—from nursing students to recent graduates to experienced nurses with years of practice—makes lasting connections with their nurse preceptors as they discover career opportunities along the way.
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The Harris Health mentorship program is the natural progression after nurses graduate from their preceptorship. Mentor nurses like Pamela Davis, MSN, RN-BC, Harris Health’s mentor program manager, work closely with their mentees to ensure they’re supported throughout their careers.
Houston Methodist Cypress is poised to shake up healthcare once again with its vision of the Smart Hospital of the future. Building upon the technological advancements already in use across sister hospitals, the new Cypress location is paving the way for a digitally engaged patient experience, both inpatient and outpatient.
Central to this vision are the innovative “smart patient rooms,” meticulously designed to feature centralized screens for entertainment, education, and communication boards, fostering a sense of connectivity for every patient. By combining the physical and digital elements of healthcare into every aspect of patient care, this “Smart Hospital” in Cypress is definitely setting a new bar for the industry.
Recognizing the importance of getting staff fully onboard with these advancements, their latest hospital is proactively developing playbooks for onboarding all their frontline and administrative workers. These resources will facilitate the integration of new technologies into workflows, ensuring that both patients and staff can fully harness the benefits of the Smart Hospital concept when introduced early next year.
By StoryStudio on April 29, 2024
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- Pamela Davis, MSN, RN-BC, Mentor Nurse
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Mentorship helps determine career paths. We have targeted mentorship programs that reflect a nurse’s individual goals.
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A preceptor plays many roles in the lives of new hires: teacher, emotional supporter, mentor, and trusted advisor. Their work is invaluable in transitioning nurses to the Harris Health model of care while connecting them with the next generation of nurses. As Hodge-Garrett says, “If you want to work with good nurses, you have to train good nurses.” It’s a rewarding experience for both sides. Nurses emerge from the preceptor program independent, confident, with a strong sense of purpose for their practice and their future career goals. The program fosters a collaborative bond that’s supportive and encouraging as nurses grow and develop into seasoned professionals.
“My preceptor was amazing,” she says. She recalls a moment that stuck with her during her preceptor program when her nurse preceptor stayed after her shift to be with a dying patient. “She impressed on me how important the continuum of care is not only for our patients but for their families as well.”
The preceptor program is one of many initiatives Harris Health offers to support nurses. Nurses who join Harris Health receive:
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“I grew up at Harris Health,” Davis Pamela. “I loved my preceptor and now I love being a mentor.”
While Davis notes that informal mentoring has always been an important part of nursing, formalizing the process at Harris Health has meant using data to produce the best outcomes for nurses and patients while crystalizing best practices within the mentorship program itself. The mentor-mentee relationship is key to actualizing a nurse’s career mobility.
“Mentorship matters,” Davis explains noting that mentorship is available to every nurse. “Mentorship helps determine career paths. We have targeted mentorship programs that reflect a nurse’s individual goals. Leadership mentorship, education mentorship, research, clinical advancement—all these different focuses provide promotion opportunities for nurses already working at Harris Health.”
Mentorships are also important drivers of clinical inquiry. Because many of the greatest innovations in patient care start at the bedside, nursing is a key factor in developing best practices. The collaborative and supportive structure of the mentor program foster ideas and solutions. A nurse begins in the preceptor program, graduates to a mentorship, and then, as they decide on a career path and gain experience, can pass those knowledge skills, and experience to nurses who follow.
“My preceptor was amazing,” she says. She recalls a moment that stuck with her during her preceptor program when her nurse preceptor stayed after her shift to be with a dying patient. “She impressed on me how important the continuum of care is not only for our patients but for their families as well.”
The preceptor program is one of many initiatives Harris Health offers to support nurses. Nurses who join Harris Health receive:
Sara Hodge-Garrett
Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Harris Health
• Tuition reimbursement
• Student loan repayment
• Access to the Nursing Career Advancement Program (NCAP), the nursing clinical ladder that recognizes nurses as they advance in their careers, acquire new education, skills, and certifications
• Nurse Fellowships that allow nurses to remain within the organization while they learn a new specialty.
• Recognition through the Daisy Award for exceptional nurses who exemplify compassion, caring, and an unwavering dedication to patients
• Invaluable mentorship to help guide nurses professionally and provide a blueprint for career advancement
This cycle shows why any salute to nurses must recognize the incredible job Harris Health preceptors and mentors do in support of the nursing profession. While COVID was an extraordinary burden on the world and healthcare, it also showed how nurse resilience, when paired with robust support, can triumph over any adversity. If anything, nurses’ resilience during the pandemic proved how necessary supporting them is and acts as a bellwether to those considering nursing as a career moving forward, Davis says.
For both nursing professionals, Harris Health stands apart in this regard.
“The pay is competitive and the work is hard everywhere,” Hodge-Garrett says. “I stay at Harris Health because of the support I receive and because I believe in the mission.”
Davis agrees. “If you're looking for best practices and best care, based on the evidence, this is the place to be.”
Do you know the ‘Why?’ behind your call to nursing, if so, Harris Health offers you the solution of ‘Where?’ Answer your calling in an environment that supports you. To learn more or join the Harris Health nursing team, visit jobs.harrishealth.org/nursing-jobs.
Mentorships are also important drivers of clinical inquiry. Because many of the greatest innovations in patient care start at the bedside, nursing is a key factor in developing best practices. The collaborative and supportive structure of the mentor program foster ideas and solutions. A nurse begins in the preceptor program, graduates to a mentorship, and then, as they decide on a career path and gain experience, can pass those knowledge skills, and experience to nurses who follow.
Pamela Davis
Mentor Program Manager
at Harris Health
Sara Hodge-Garrett
Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Harris Health