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(904) 244-0411

Professional Development

Employment Opportunities
Professional Development

The mission of the UF Health Jacksonville Professional Practice Department is to provide innovative and creative educational opportunities for nursing staff which facilitate professional and personal growth, professional competence and advance career goals.

This mission is achieved by the following goals:

  • Foster nursing research and evidenced-based practice
  • Facilitate competence in nursing services by ongoing assessment, development of programs, and evaluation of the outcomes
  • Improve the quality of patient care by educating nurses in their role regarding nurse specific quality indicators, national patient safety goals, benchmarking data, and best practice, evidence-based guidelines

We also aim to attract and retain well-educated and compassionate nurses to our organization. We have established a number of programs to enhance nursing at UF Health Jacksonville. Some of these programs include:

Charge Nurse Leadership Development

UF Health Jacksonville Nursing hosts Charge Nurse Leadership Development Programs to foster skills in the areas of supervision and delegation, communication, conflict resolution, and team building.

Specialty Fellowships

Throughout the year, we host several fellowships allowing nurses to transition into specialty practice areas. Some of these fellowships include:

  • Critical Care Fellowship
  • Emergency Department Fellowship
  • Maternal Child Fellowship
  • Periop 101

New Nurse Fellowship Program

UF Health Jacksonville offers a New Nurse Fellowship Program that is a 10-week program developed to provide transition of the graduate nurse to that of a professional nurse. Critical thinking scenarios and practice of skills practiced on most nursing units are essential components of this program. The program provides new nurses the ability to demonstrate the core competencies required for entry-level nurses through practice with equipment and use of the simulation lab for critical thinking scenarios. During the 10-week program, the new nurse will participate in classroom learning, skill practice in the simulation and skill-teaching labs, work with a "buddy" and preceptor on the nursing unit assigned and will spend a shift with Wound Care and if the skill is needed, new nurses will spend a day in the ED to start IVs lines and a day in the lab drawing blood.

Professional Recognition Program

The Nursing Professional Recognition Program rewards bedside nurses who demonstrate behaviors that excel the professional practice of nursing.

Depending on a point system, participants are eligible for a monetary bonus.

Nursing Simulation Lab

UF Health Jacksonville has a state of the art Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research (CSESaR).

The Nursing Simulation Lab is used for our fellowship programs and ongoing skills training. CSESaR is located in a large facility spanning approximately 24,000 square feet, and is divided into three areas in the Pavilion building on the UF Health Jacksonville campus.

  • Main Simulation and Conference/Instruction Area
    This 7,000 square-foot area occupies a former hospital emergency room. The area is supported by an additional 800 square-foot conference and instructional area. The center uses an impressive array of equipment to assist clinical staff in developing and fine-tuning necessary job skills.
  • Operating Room Simulation and Instruction Area
    This 14,000 square-foot area contains 12 operating rooms. It is supported by an additional 1,900 square-foot instruction area.
  • Disaster Simulation Area
    This area includes a previous parking lot and ambulance entrance to the former emergency department. It is prepared to be equipped with tents, emergency mobile facilities and other disaster preparation equipment, as the training scenarios and events may require.

Tuition Reimbursement

Our team is here to support and encourage educational advancement for all of our nurses. Employees who are classified as a non-probationary, full-time employee are eligible for tuition reimbursement benefits. The degree program, certification, or course work must clearly provide benefit to UF Health Jacksonville as well as the employee.