Nursing Professional Development

At Children's Hospital Colorado, we support the professional development of our nurses throughout their careers — whether they're just entering the nursing profession or have decades of experience. Our Clinical Advancement Program, continuing education offerings, scholarship opportunities and advanced career opportunities support the continuous growth and development of our nursing team members.

Clinical Advancement Program

Our Clinical Advancement Program (CAP) provides a structure and process for nurses to advance their career and earn higher pay, while making a positive impact on quality and patient safety. CAP recognize our nurses' exceptional care for their service in the following areas: 

• Track 1: Exemplary professional practice (nurse as clinical expert)
• Track 2: Transformational leadership (nurse as leader)
• Track 3: Structural empowerment (nurse as educator)
• Track 4: New knowledge, innovations and improvements (nurse as scientist)

The program is modeled after Dr. Patricia Benner’s novice to expert continuum, framed in the Magnet® Model components, and aligns with our Children's Colorado Professional Practice Model. It was created to help engage, retain and inspire nurses by providing accessible, evidence-based and transparent processes and outcomes. 

Transition to practice programs for registered nurses

Children's Colorado welcomes nurses with experience in adult healthcare settings who are looking to continue their career in pediatrics. Our Transition to Practice programs provide specialized training and education to support nurses as they make the shift to caring for kids and their families. 

We're proud to offer three clinical programs for nurses of all skill levels and experience: 

• Transition to Practice Program (TTP) for Adult to Pediatric Nursing
• New to NICU RN Transition to Practice Program  
• Ambulatory Pediatric Transition to Practice Program 

Learn more about our programs

New Graduate Nurse Residency Program

Our nurse residency program is accredited by the commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Through the program, new graduate nurses participate in classroom, clinical lab/simulation instruction, precepted clinical experience and mentorship activities as they begin their careers as pediatric nurses.

Learn more about the New Graduate Nurse Residency Program.

Professional development throughout your nursing career

In addition to our established professional development programs, we are committed to supporting our nurses in their pursuit of continuing education, training and career advancement.  

Nursing continuing professional development offerings  

We host hundreds of diverse continuing professional development offerings throughout the year that are open to our nursing team and healthcare professionals from other institutions. These opportunities include conferences and symposiums, unit-based programs, asynchronous online courses and self-study programs.  

Children’s Colorado is an approved provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Colorado Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

View our 2024 continuing education calendar for healthcare professionals 

Support for certifications and renewals  

At Children’s Colorado, we know how important it is for our nurses to pursue certifications that validate their clinical skills and expertise. We provide financial reimbursement for one certification per year related to a nurse’s specialty, whether that’s renewing an existing certification or pursuing a new one. We also encourage our nurses to pursue their certified pediatric nurse (CPN) distinction to showcase their experience in caring for kids.  

To support our nurses in their pursuit of certifications, we provide a clinical and research library at our hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus that includes resources and study materials. Many of these resources are also accessible online.  

Nursing research and innovation  

We’re dedicated to advancing pediatric healthcare through research and clinical inquiry. We partner with the University of Colorado’s College of Nursing to operate the state’s only hospital-based pediatric nursing research fellowship to help nurses expand their knowledge in their chosen clinical area.  

Additionally, we partner with CU on our innovative nurse scientist program, which allows our advanced practice nurses to contribute new knowledge to the pediatric healthcare industry.  

Resilience and self-care for nurses  

We support self-care and resilience for nurses by providing a variety of courses and resources for team members throughout their careers. Our offerings include: 

• The Kali Whittle Resilience Conference: This conference brings together resiliency experts to support staff by creating opportunities to find peace and healing while caring for others.  
• Caritas Circles: The nursing care team comes together at the beginning of each shift to support one another and prepare for the workday.
• Heart Math: This class provides a unique set of techniques to lower stress and boost resilience, while engaging the power of positive emotions to promote well-being and self-care.
• Three Vital Questions: This class teaches attendees how to act as a creator and achieve goals.