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At Washington Regional, nurses directly impact each patient and their family members. In addition to helping patients heal physically, nurses offer emotional support to patients and their families. They listen to concerns, provide reassurance, and help patients navigate the complexities of their health care journey.
Washington Regional Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Meredith Green, MSN, APRN, says a desire to help others is the essence of nursing.“ Being able to provide comfort, care and expertise during life’ s most vulnerable moments is truly a calling.”
Since beginning in 1950 as a county hospital, Washington Regional has grown to become the largest health care system in Northwest Arkansas. With a 425-bed medical center, more than 40 clinic locations throughout Northwest and North Central Arkansas, and over 3,600 team members, Washington Regional is committed to improving the health of people in the communities it serves through compassionate, high-quality care, prevention and wellness education. Washington Regional’ s nurses carry out that mission every day, whether they work in the hospital or in one of Washington Regional’ s primary care or specialty care clinics.
Washington Regional provides the highest level of care in the region for many specialties including stroke, spine, trauma, maternity and cardiovascular care. It is also home to five Centers of Excellence which include:
• J. B. Hunt Transport Services
Neuroscience Institute
• Pat Walker Center for Seniors
• Total Joint Center
• Walker Heart Institute
• Women and Infants Center While patient care is always top priority, Washington Regional
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understands the importance of taking care of nurses. Green, who began her career at Washington Regional as a registered nurse, says nurses have a need to serve others, and the health system wants to help them achieve that through a fulfilling career.“ Our vision is to be the best place for patients to receive care while providing our nurses with an environment that is the best place for them to give care,” Green explains.
Washington Regional is dedicated to supporting all team members including nurses, by offering continuing education and tuition assistance to help employees grow their careers. Whether it’ s a first job or advancing in your field, Washington Regional
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provides the tools and resources to help team members succeed.“ No matter the experience level, there is room to grow in your career at Washington Regional,” Green says.
Newly graduated nurses can gain additional skills and knowledge during their first year through Washington Regional’ s Nurse Residency program. The program helps nurses transition to professional practice and become confident care providers through a variety of sessions designed to strengthen their assessment, critical thinking, communication, teamwork and technical skills in a safe learning environment. Nurse residency participants also spend time in different hospital units and departments to better understand
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how nurses in other areas work together and the unique challenges they face.
Tyler Betts, a registered nurse in the hospital’ s cardiology department, says the Nurse Residency program helped him feel prepared as a new nurse.“ Being a newly graduated nurse, it was really comforting to be in a place where I felt welcomed to ask questions and continue learning,” he says.“ The Nurse Residency program made me more confident in my ability to provide even better patient care.” Prior to completing nursing school, Betts worked at Washington Regional as a patient care tech, assisting the nursing staff with patient care needs.“ After I graduated, I wanted to come back to a place that felt like home,” he says.
In the Nurse Residency program, new nurses are matched with experienced RNs who serve as mentors and help nurture the skills needed for success.“ Having a more experienced nurse to go to was so helpful when I started. I had someone to go to with questions, and I was able to learn from their experience,” Betts says.
Betts says the opportunity to learn is one of the biggest reasons he enjoys working at Washington Regional.“ I always challenge myself to continue learning and growing, and that’ s encouraged at Washington Regional.”
The advanced skills Betts learned in residency allow him to share his expertise with other new nurses, something Green hopes others will choose to do.“ Whether you have been a nurse for decades or just graduated from nursing school, we value the work you do and there is a place for you at Washington Regional,” Green says. To explore current career opportunities or learn more about Washington Regional, visit wregional. com / careers.
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