Education Advancement
Rady Children’s is committed to supporting the growth and development of its team members. You can take advantage of these programs throughout the fiscal year after one year of service:
- Tuition Assistance – Rady Children’s dedicates funds each year to reimburse employees up to $2,000 each year for tuition fees. This benefit is intended to support development of additional skills and/or knowledge relevant to the employee’s current position and/or career objective within Rady Children’s Hospital.
- Nelson Funds for Education – Funded by a generous and unexpected gift from the Nelson Family in celebration of the employees of Rady Children’s Hospital, this program offers $300 to employees every two years to support educational opportunities and resources. May include publications, workshops, online training, classroom activities and/or other educational opportunities.
- Education Hours Fund – Funds have been set aside to offer paid time for employees to attend job-related seminars, workshops, events or conferences for up to 16 reimbursable hours per fiscal year. Employees can access the fund by completing the application below corresponding to their job status (RN, technical or non-union) and submitting the application to Department Leadership prior to registering for an educational event.
- Rady School of Management Fellowship – We are proud to partner with Rady School of Management to offer a tuition reduction fellowship opportunity to staff who complete our internal application and review process. The MBA fellowship opens for applications each spring for fall enrollment with the Rady School of Management.
- Rady Children’s Tuition Reduction Scholarship – National University System is providing a tuition reduction scholarship on associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees available at each of their system affiliates: National University, City University of Seattle and North Central University. Rady Children’s employees, inclusive of staff in Rady Children’s Physician Management Services (RCPMS) and providers in the Medical Practice Foundation (MPF), will receive a 25 percent reduction in tuition. Spouses, dependents, and domestic partners will also benefit from this dynamic partnership with a 15 percent tuition reduction. There are additional tuition reduction programs for local San Diego nursing programs as well as online/hybrid programs.
Certification
- 52% of nurses are certified as of 2024
- A variety of pre-paid code or voucher programs are available:
- ANCC Success Pays® Program for multiple certifications*
- PNCB No Pass, No Pay® Program for CPN*, CPNP*
- AACN Voucher Program for CCRN
- BCEN Voucher Program for CPEN, TCRN
- CCI Take 2 Program for CNOR
- ONCC FreeTake® Program for OCN, CPHON, CMT-CN
*Available for recertifications
Professional Development Classes
Rady Children’s offers a wide range of classes to further professional development including:
- Charge Nurse Workshop
- Preceptor Workshop
- Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN) Review Course
Evidence-Based Practice Institute
The Consortium for Nursing Excellence, San Diego (CNESD) sponsors an Evidence-Based Practice Institute (EBPI) at Rady Children’s as a collaboration among clinical staff from several health care and academic institutions in San Diego. The EBPI vision is to inspire clinical excellence through the promotion of evidence-based practice. The EBPI mission statement includes fostering networks for mutual sharing, innovative thinking and creative problem-solving to move evidence-based practice initiatives into clinical realities, to test a novel approach to infuse evidence-based practice through interagency partnerships within a community, to promote expertise in evidence-based practice through workshops and other learning opportunities, to disseminate our experiences and our outcomes and to improve the health of our community.
The EBPI uses an innovative staff development and mentorship model to empower clinicians in all areas of practice to participate in advancing practice through evidence-based change. The model offers professional development opportunities for dyads of mentors and fellows, resulting in enhanced job satisfaction and team cohesion. EBPI is six full days of classes over six months culminating in a graduation ceremony held in month seven at the Evidence-Based Practice Conference.
Philanthropic Nursing Funding to Advance Practice
At Rady Children’s, nurses are not only the backbone of patient care, but they also are key drivers of care transformation. Thanks to a generous grant from the Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation, a long-time supporter of nursing at Rady Children’s, our bedside nurses and respiratory therapists are conducting leading-edge research that directly benefits our patients and families.