Award Summary
The New Ulm Medical Center, part of Allina Health, has a culture that supports providing
training for many healthcare careers. Through partnership with academic affiliates, NUMC
offers extensive clinical training options including physician training with rural practice
emphasis, pharmacy residency, nursing, rehabilitation, mental health professionals, radiology
technicians, and emergency medical technicians. Career advancement and education for current
staff include preceptor program for RNs which promotes a safe, healthy working environment
for students and graduate nurses. High school students have the opportunity to participate in a
healthcare career exploration series. This commitment to training opportunities has contributed
to successful recruitment at NUMC, and supports the workforce needs of other healthcare
providers.
New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC), part of Allina Health, promotes healthcare careers by
offering training for multiple disciplines. NUMC maintains academic affiliations with accredited colleges
and programs in effort to provide clinical training opportunities for healthcare professionals, particularly
those in high demand for rural Minnesota. In 2013, NUMC coordinated 133 clinical experiences for
students in pre-licensure programs, an increase of 1.2% from the previous year. These consisted of
clinical placements for 2 Medical students, 10 Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant students, 8
Master of Social Work students, and 7 Doctorate of Pharmacy students, including a year-long residency
program for one select Pharm D. graduate each year. In addition, students from disciplines of nursing,
chemical dependency counselor, radiology technician, and emergency medicine technician programs
benefited from onsite training. This investment in training has translated into successful recruitment.
This past year NUMC has hired a Physical Therapist, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Radiology
Tech and several nurses who have done clinical rotations at our facility.
NUMC supports the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) through the University of
Minnesota by providing experiential education to 3rd year medical students to encourage consideration of
a career focus on rural medicine/practice. NUMC has served as a training site for this program for several
years, and continually supports 2 RPAP students each year through extensive mentoring, preceptorship,
and housing assistance. This training initiative has contributed to the success in physician recruitment for
NUMC, and to the preparation of physicians who will choose to serve our rural communities.
Furthermore, Dr. Roger Lindholm, MD Family Practice at NUMC was awarded the Preceptor of the Year
by the University of Minnesota for 2013.
In addition to partnering with academic affiliates, NUMC promotes professional growth for
registered nurses (RN) new to the profession. National statistics demonstrate a high turnover in new
graduate RNs up to 60%. NUMC, part of Allina Health, has responded to this by supporting the transition
from academic/student practice to professional nursing by implementing a robust preceptor training
program. This program trains preceptors on topics including communication, conflict resolution,
working collaboratively and effectively with others, and instills concepts required for a healthy work
environment, thus contributing to staff satisfaction, patient safety, and positive outcomes. Furthermore,
new RNs are integrated into a mentoring system that provides them with the support they need to
effectively develop their healthcare profession. As a result of these efforts to support new graduate RNs,
our turnover rate in 2013 was 4.37%, with a vacancy rate of just 1.4%.
NUMC’s philosophy and values support healthcare career promotion for its current staff by way
of providing financial assistance and scheduling flexibility to those pursing advancement in their
degree/field of practice. In the last 18 months, two RNs have completed advanced training and moved
into Nurse Practitioner positions, and a Radiology Tech is currently completing training as a Physician
Assistant. Several LPNs have completed their education and In addition, NUMC conducts an educational
series to high-school students interested in the healthcare field, and dedicates time to present for area
career fairs to answer questions and offer guidance on healthcare career choices. This allows students the
opportunity to gain knowledge of various areas of healthcare practice and facilitates informed decision
making related to career paths.
NUMC’s initiatives in fostering healthcare careers for the rural practice setting are relevant to any
rural critical access facility, in addition to urban metro healthcare centers. Preemptive efforts to maintain
new graduate hires and promote a healthy work environment are pivotal to patient safety and quality care.
Support for staff pursuing degree advancement depicts the culture of the organization in its commitment
to fostering the development of healthcare practice. Our commitment to training has helped us with
recruiting technical and professional staff, and supports the broader community need for trained
healthcare personnel.