A career ladder program designed by perioperative staff nurses.

Staff members at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, were dissatisfied with the existing clinical ladder program, so a committee of perioperative staff nurses was appointed to create a new program. The new program was based on a literature review and RN and management survey data. Under the new program, nurses must accumulate points to quality for or maintain clinical nurse levels I, II, or III. The point system recognizes many professional contributions that were ignored by the previous program.