MILWAUKEE — Marquette University’s College of Nursing, Office of Economic Engagement and Froedtert Hospital have announced a clinical training partnership that will develop graduate nurses who are “practice-ready” and reduce orientation time as they enter the workforce.
“Froedtert Scholars” will launch a pilot clinical experience program this spring with a more individualized mentorship experience in specialty nursing areas their senior year. That mentorship experience will pair one student with a senior staff nurse for a semester of one-on-one mentorship. This marks a change from the traditional clinical setting featuring groups of students who spend one full semester in a specific assigned clinical setting.
“We are appreciative of the engagement from our training partners such as Froedtert and their eagerness to offer a program which represents a paradigm shift for working with students and hospitals,” said Dr. Jill Guttormson, acting dean of the College of Nursing. “This innovative program enhances the already transformative educational experience that Marquette nurses have been receiving for almost 90 years, while offering Froedtert Hospital a pipeline of nursing staff already familiar with its policies and protocols.”
A current Froedtert nurse will be recruited to serve as faculty instructor for the program in order to mentor students during clinicals. Students will then be exposed to multiple areas of clinical practice.
“Froedtert Hospital is committed to growing the next generation of health care professionals,” said Eric Humphrey, senior vice president and chief human resources officer for Froedtert Health. “We are excited to partner with the Marquette College of Nursing to better prepare its tremendous graduates for a career in nursing within the Froedtert Hospital system. Programs such as this advance the mission of both Froedtert and Marquette by offering a more personalized clinical training and improved patient care.”
The Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network is a partnership between Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin supporting a shared mission of patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Its health network operates eastern Wisconsin’s only academic medical center and adult Level I Trauma Center at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, an internationally recognized training and research center engaged in thousands of clinical trials and studies. The Froedtert and MCW health network, which includes eight hospital locations, more than 2,000 physicians and more than 45 health centers and clinics, draws patients from throughout the Midwest and the nation. In its most recent fiscal year, outpatient visits were nearly 1.5 million, inpatient admissions to our hospitals were 55,085 and visits to our network physicians exceeded 1.1 million.
