The Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence works on many levels to address nursing education, recruitment and retention in Colorado:

Work, Education and Lifelong Learning Simulation (WELLS) Center
A state-of-the-art lab to help nursing students, faculty and practicing nurses hone their clinical skills. Computer-driven mannequins simulate virtually any type of clinical experience; the Visible Human Dissector™ provides a cutting-edge, interactive computer program for virtual anatomy and dissection. High-speed data-casting provided by Rocky Mountain PBS makes these advanced simulation tools available remotely to users statewide. The WELLS Center is funded by the Colorado Dept. of Labor & Employment through a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Labor and housed at the University of Colorado Hospital at the Fitzsimons campus. The Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence helped to develop the lab and oversees its operations.

Faculty Development Initiative
This two-year, $1 million effort funded by the Colorado Dept. of Labor and Employment and coordinated by the Center, trains practicing nurses to become “clinical scholars” who can provide classroom instruction and oversee clinical rotations.

Colorado Consortium for Nursing Leadership Development
Building on the learnings from the previous Colorado Consortium for Nurse Retention program (see below), this new project initiated in 2007 aims to foster front-line nurse leadership. Giving charge nurses and other front-line leaders the tools to manage effectively will increase job satisfaction among staff nurses, improve staff retention and contribute to high-quality care. Over the course of the three-year project, 12 rural and urban sites, covering both acute and long-term care facilities, will participate.

Colorado Consortium for Nurse Retention
Because many nurses leave the profession due to dissatisfaction, the Center seeks to develop programs to increase nursing job satisfaction and retention by teaching leadership and problem-solving skills. This five-year project replicates one Denver hospital’s model of collaborative process improvement and nurse empowerment in rural and urban test sites. At the end of the pilot project, we hope to expand this approach to other sites throughout Colorado.

In addition to the Center’s initiatives, numerous organizations throughout Colorado conduct their own programs to address the many factors affecting Colorado’s nursing shortage.

› Click here to view a list of other programs underway statewide