Terrence and Barbara Caster Institute for Nursing Excellence
Terrence and Barbara Caster Institute for Nursing Excellence
Transforming lives through caring, innovation and leadership.
At Sharp HealthCare, nurses are a diverse team of professionals, working in roles from bedside care to administration. Nurses are the front line of The Sharp Experience and are central to our accomplishments, not only as an organization, but also for the patients and loved ones we care for each and every day.
Recognizing the important role that nurses play in transforming the lives of patients and their families, the Terrence and Barbara Caster Institute for Nursing Excellence was created to provide nurses with resources and opportunities for enhanced collaboration, best-practice sharing and lifelong learning.
Making health care better.
The institute ensures optimal patient outcomes throughout the organization and gives nursing professionals access to unprecedented opportunities for collaboration, community involvement and lifelong learning.
The Caster Nursing Institute aims to advance nursing practice and patient outcomes through four centers of excellence — each with a unique focus.
The Wiesler Center for Professional Growth
At the James and Mary Jane Wiesler Center for Professional Growth, we aim to reflect the value of lifelong learning and provide opportunities for nurses to continually grow and acquire new life skills.
We encourage a collaborative environment with state-of-the-art facilities and advanced clinical practices, so you can learn, feel empowered to have a voice and be inspired to follow your passions wherever they take you.
You’ll also receive support from your team — including nursing assistants, lift team members and IV team members — so you can focus on providing the best care possible to your patients.
We recognize the important role that our nurses play in transforming the lives of patients and their families. We’re proud to provide our nurses with resources and opportunities for enhanced collaboration, best-practice sharing and lifelong learning.
Our initiatives include:
- Educational scholarship program
- Lead mentoring program
- Nurse residency programs
- Nurse transition programs
- Nursing leadership development
- Nursing Professional Practice Model
- Ongoing certification
- Preceptor program
- Pre-licensure and advanced nursing degree support
- Partnerships with schools of nursing
The Center for Inquiry and Innovation
At the Sharp HealthCare Center for Inquiry and Innovation, we promote the value of a questioning attitude to advance evidence-based practice, research and innovation.
Our initiatives include:
- Dissemination and spread of projects and studies
- Doctoral innovation forum
- Grant writing
- IRB forms
- Nurse scientist consultation
- Research grants
- Statistical consultation
- Technology (computers, statistical analysis software)
Learn more about nursing research at Sharp HealthCare, including our San Diego Evidence-Based Practice Institute, research studies, publication citations, interprofessional research with nurse principal investigators and innovation learning projects.
The Center for Education and Technology
At the Center for Education and Technology, we embrace the value of reflective practice and promotes learning in classroom, virtual and simulated clinical settings.
Our initiatives include:
- Education classrooms
- Electronic platforms for programs
- Leadership academy
- Mentoring
- Population health and wellness
- Precepting
- Simulation center and specialists
The Center for Community Engagement
At the Center for Community Engagement, we aim to reflect the value of partnership and works to advance the nursing profession and the health of those served in the region.
Our initiatives include:
- Academic service partnerships — Through the Center for Community Engagement, Sharp partners with nursing schools to provide on-site clinical education to nursing students, yielding graduates with top qualifications. In 2020, 2,018 nursing students spent 163,507* hours in Sharp facilities for on-site clinical education.
Sharp has provided learning opportunities for nursing students from the following schools:
- Azuza Pacific University
- Brandman University
- California State University, San Marcos
- Grand Canyon University
- Grossmont College
- National University
- Point Loma Nazarene University
- San Diego State University
- Southwestern College
- University of San Diego
- Western Governors University
- Western University of Health Science
- Community consortia
- Innovative clinical placements and student experiences
- Professional symposiums
- San Diego Consortium for Excellence in Nursing and Allied Health
- San Diego Nursing and Allied Health Service-Education Consortium
- School of nursing advisory boards
Supporting San Diego’s nurses.
Through the Caster Nursing Institute, Sharp partners with prestigious nursing schools to provide on-site clinical education to more students, yielding graduates with top qualifications. The institute's Educational Excellence Fund was established to offer scholarships that support continued education and certification classes for Sharp’s nurses, developing future health care leaders, educators, researchers and policy makers.
How you can help.
To support the Caster Nursing Institute through Sharp HealthCare Foundation, you can donate now or send us an email.
Read our Voice of Nursing newsletters.
Contact us.
Laurie Ecoff, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNL
Vice President, Caster Nursing Institute
7930 Frost Street, Ste. 307, San Diego, CA 92123
laurie.ecoff@sharp.com
Karen Flowers
Administrative Assistant
karen.flowers@sharp.com
Interoffice mail
7930 Frost, Ste. 307
Learn more about our nurses.
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The first Del Corazon First Generation Nursing Scholarships were awarded to two Sharp employees.
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Sharp’s four ERs and all others in San Diego received “senior-friendly” accreditation.
