Nursing

A Word from the Oregon Regional Chief Nursing Officer

Jennifer Burrows, Interim Chief Nursing Officer for the Oregon Region of Providence

As the Interim Chief Nursing Officer for the Oregon Region of Providence St Joseph Health System and on behalf of the more than 5,500 nurses who choose to practice at Providence ministries across the state, I want to welcome you to our team.

As Providence nurses, we are bound by our promise, “Together we answer the call of every person we serve:  know me, care for me, ease my way”. This promise requires us to work together to improve health at the individual level with a special effort to reach the poor and vulnerable. Our ministries opens their doors to those in need including community residents who are under or uninsured and suffer from severe disease, chronic disease and issues of mental health. As the Nurse Executive, I can state that the team of nurses live our mission through their everyday excellence, and I remain amazed at the skill, compassion, and teamwork that they display to our patients, their families and our community.

Over the past four years, I have been privileged to be a part of the organization’s journey to become a Highly Reliable Organization (HRO), partnering with physicians and other leaders equally committed to excellence and safety.  Using the methodology from the nuclear power and aviation industries, Providence has adopted universal safety behaviors and tones of communication, which have helped all our employees care reliably. All of our care teams and members of the medical staff participated in the intensive HRO training. The HRO tones and tools when consistently applied, lead to fewer errors and more optimal care outcomes. Through this work the nurses, physicians and other members of the team have established a superior culture of safety and care excellence that we hope exceeds the expectations of our patients and families. We are still actively engaged on this journey and seeing a reduction in events of harm to our patients in each of our care settings.

The excellence of our nursing care is demonstrated in our clinical nurse sensitive quality outcomes measures, our patient satisfaction data from our patients and the Magnet designation or pursuit of designation that is occurring within our acute care ministries. I am proud of the nursing culture we have built within Oregon and the full spectrum of nursing services that we offer our state; from telephone support to home and community care to acute hospitalization our nurses are compassionate partners to the patients and families we serve.  It is a privilege to be part of the legacy of caring that Providence has built over the past 165 years.

-Jennifer Burrows MBA, BSc, BN, RN

Who We Are

Providence Health and Services in Oregon employs approximately 5,500 professional nurses in hospitals, clinics, as well as community and home health based ministries. Our nurses pursue excellence in nursing through advanced education as well as certifications in specialty practice. Providence Oregon includes two magnet designated hospitals; Providence St. Vincent’s which just achieved their fifth Magnet designation, and Providence Portland Hospital who has achieved Magnet designation three times. In addition, The Center for Medically Fragile Children is a Pathways designated facility.

The purpose of the Clinical Scholarship is to systematically advance practice, education, and leadership in nursing through rigorous inquiry and application of high quality evidence. To achieve this, we use the Clinical Scholarship Framework for Nursing: 

Inquire
  • Continuously evaluate the quality of our practice
  • Examine performance and outcomes data compared to scientific literature for best practice adoption
  • Generate new knowledge through research studies when evidence is insufficient
Improve
  • Enhance the lives of patients and families we serve by applying clinical scholarship methods
  • These include best clinical processes, nurse and patient engagement, high education levels of our staff, preparedness for leadership and transformation of care through innovations in practice
Inform 
  • Disseminate findings from research studies, rapidly spreading best practices and innovations
  • Share findings through collaborations, presentations and papers, thus contributing to nursing science

The experience of being a nurse at Providence starts with a comprehensive onboarding program. All nurses begin their careers with an extensive orientation that includes standardized content as well as activities customized for your unique practice history. Experienced RN’s who wish to gain skills in a new care area can join our many fellowship programs and new graduates are supported through a year-long residency program. More information on our transition in practice programs can be found here.

Education opportunities at Providence abound. The University of Providence is a fully accredited university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees provided at a deeply discounted rate for our employees and close dependents. We maintain strategic relations with a number of local colleges and universities of nursing, including the University of Portland where we offer scholarship and loan forgiveness programs.