Building Nursing Workforce Pathways: Student Development, Transition to Practice and Personalized Orientation

Hosted by the AONL-AHA Learning Community

Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 11:00 AM CT

Building Nursing Workforce Pathways: Student Development, Transition to Practice and Personalized Orientation

This webinar will explore how health systems are strengthening the nursing workforce by supporting nurses across the full transition-to-practice continuum, from student development and recruitment to onboarding and early career retention. Presenters will discuss national nursing workforce trends, projected demands and emerging challenges while emphasizing the importance of robust, supportive transition-to-practice experiences. The session will highlight practical models including a longitudinal nursing student development pathway that uses academic-practice partnerships and progressive clinical experiences to build workforce readiness, and a tiered orientation model that individualizes onboarding based on clinical background, experience and demonstrated competency. Participants will learn how these approaches can improve professional integration, reduce orientation time and onboarding costs, enhance staffing flexibility, strengthen retention and create scalable workforce pathways across complex health systems. 
 

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe how student development pathways, transition-to-practice programs and individualized orientation models can strengthen workforce readiness, retention and nursing workforce capacity. 
   

About the Presenters

Amanda Stallings, MSN, RN, Manager of Clinical Education, Renown Health

Amanda Stallings, MSN, RN, serves as the Manager of Clinical Education for Renown Health, an integrated health system in northern Nevada. She provides strategic leadership for onboarding and workforce development programs that support new graduate nurses, experienced nurse hires and licensed and nonlicensed healthcare professionals across the system. Through innovative education and transition-to-practice initiatives, Amanda is committed to building a resilient workforce and creating efficient

Stephanie Zidek, PhD, RN, AGCNS-BC, CENP, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, Vice President, Enterprise Nursing Education and Professional Development, Advocate Health 

Stephanie Zidek is a Vice President of Nursing Education and Professional Development at Advocate Health and previously served in nursing leader roles at the site, region and system level. She has served two consecutive terms on the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) Board of Directors, recently transitioned to President role this year, and hosts the association’s NPD Forecast podcast. A passionate advocate for nursing professional development, Stephanie believes that every NPD has the ability to shape practice, influence change and drive better outcomes. 

Kara Hedvig Evans, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, Director, Nursing Education and Professional Development, Advocate Health

Kara Evans is a Director of Nursing Education and Professional Development at Advocate Health. She holds certifications in Nursing Professional Development 2 (NPD-BC) and in Nursing Executive Advanced (NEA-BC). Kara is a passionate advocate for supporting transition to practice for new nurses and for providing experienced nurses with reasons to remain excited and engaged in their profession.

Christine Brigitte Schneider Kvalheim, MSN, RN, Nursing Professional Development Specialist, HealthPartners

Christine "Tina" Kvalheim, MSN, RN, is a Nursing Professional Development Specialist and facilitator at HealthPartners, bringing 34 years of dedicated service and a passion for advancing nursing practice through creativity, innovation and professional development. She is committed to developing today's nursing students into tomorrow's colleagues by designing meaningful learning experiences that foster confidence, competence and a strong sense of belonging within the profession. As the creator of the NuPath clinical development pathway and extended Student Nurse Internship, Tina has helped transform the student nurse experience through academic-practice partnerships that prepare future

Beth Q. Keating, DNP, RN, Director, Nursing Practice and Professional Development, System, HealthPartners, MN/WI

Dr. Keating is Director of System Nursing Practice and Education at HealthPartners in Minnesota, where she leads nursing professional development, practice alignment and systemwide change. She brings 19 years of leadership experience, including eight years in operational leadership roles spanning cardiology, advanced care and cardiovascular services. Her work advances pathway planning, workforce development, nursing strategy and engagement across the system. 
 

The American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Learning Community Webinars offer attendees the opportunity to earn up to 1.0 contact hours.
AONL is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, provider number 15740.

By attending a Learning Community Webinar offered by the American Organization for Nursing Leadership participants may earn up to 1 ACHE Qualifying Education Hours toward initial certification or recertification of the Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) designation.