MIAMI – An internship program created by Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH) to train recent nursing graduates in advanced care settings has been recognized as a best practice program for nursing education by the Nursing Executive Center of The Advisory Board Company, a global research, technology and consulting firm. The MCH Horizons Internship Program was created in 2010 and has since provided training to over 30 nurses in a variety of different areas of service at MCH. The program was featured as a case study that was shared nationally among nursing leaders who are members of the Nursing Executive Center.
“The Horizons Internship Program has been an invaluable tool for recruiting and retaining flexible exemplary nurses with a broad base of knowledge at Miami Children’s,” said Jackie Gonzalez, DNP, ARNP, MBA, NEA-BC, FAAN, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at MCH. “This is a beneficial training model that can be replicated by other hospitals and institutions in their efforts to support and assimilate new nursing graduates.”
Through the MCH Horizons Internship Program, nurses are given the opportunity to cross-train in a variety of different units, including all three of MCH’s intensive care units, with the ability to select an area of focus. Nurses rotate through designated areas every three to four months, on average, and remain in the float pool program for a total of 18 months. To date, 33 RNs have been hired as a result of the program and 30 continue to work within the organization after two years of completing the internship and several have moved into entry level leadership roles.
View the case study on MCH’s Horizons Internship Program for nurses.
About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Children Matter Most ™ (2024)
Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children. With more than 850 physicians, including over 500 pediatric subspecialists, the hospital and its network of outpatient centers and offices serve close to 70% of children in the Miami market. The only hospital "where your child matters most™,” Nicklaus Children's is home to the region's most advanced Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower, and its centers of excellence Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children’s Orthopedics, Sports Health and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children’s Brain Institute and Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute. The Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Transfer Center, Nick4Kids, and LifeFlight are responsible for transporting and saving close to 5,000 lives a year. Our 307-bed hospital, which is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, has many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.