Nurses Transforming Care

Our vision to be a national leader in quality, safety, service and value has posed many wonderful opportunities for nurses at Billings Clinic. Striving to be a national leader is very hard work. Through engagement to evidence-based practice, Billings Clinic nurses stay on the leading edge of their practice, allowing them to participate in informed decision making that will assist them in selecting the right choices for patients.

Changes in health care today have made the role of the nurse complex. The silver lining in that complexity however is a drastic increase in the number of opportunities for the professional nurse. Still one of the most trusted professions in this country, nurses make a difference in so many ways. Our roles are about service, giving and caring. The staff at Billings Clinic a very high level of commitment to this role.

Billings Clinic Nursing | Bedside & Beyond (total time: 8:02)

Billings Clinic Nursing (total time: 3:50)

Video produced by Crytzer-England Group.

Nursing at Billings Clinic - Shared Governance and the Professional Practice Model

• Billings Clinic has established a shared governance approach to decision making regarding nursing practice. The Professional Practice Model utilized at Billings Clinic is a patient/family centered model.

• The nursing strategic plan goals are attained through the Education Council, Nursing Quality Council, Advanced Practice Nursing Council, Night Council, Nursing Research Council, Clinical Practice Council, Nursing Senate, Patient Service Leadership Council, and Clinic Service Leadership Council. Each council is guided by an established charter that defines their scope of responsibility.
• Council membership is comprised of staff nurses and leaders from nursing care areas within Billings Clinic. 
• The Night Council and the Advanced Nursing Practice Council were added in 2015 to meet the unique needs of these groups of professionals. The nursing senate serves as a sounding board for nursing practice issues and disseminates work to other councils as appropriate.
• Guided by Magnet-driven framework for excellence and evidence-based practice, each council furthers nursing practice with the goal of providing patient/family-centered care assuring safety in all encounters.

Education and Training - Utilization of the "Novice to Expert" Model

Billings Clinic Nursing has adapted Dr. Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert model. This model embraces the concept that expert nurses develop skills and understanding of patient care through a solid educational base complimented by clinical experiences. An extension of practical knowledge combined with clinical experience is the prerequisite for becoming an expert nurse.

Each nursing unit at Billings Clinic has developed a Novice to Expert approach to orientation and continues that process in developing each nurse into an expert nursing care provider.