Nursing at
United Family Healthcare
United Family Healthcare (UFH) recognizes nurses as critical members of our workforce and vital to meeting our commitment to providing excellent healthcare to our patients. We aim to provide our nurses with everything they need to succeed. UFH strives to surpass our patients’ expectations and nurses are essential to providing that level of care. We encourage our nurses to take responsibility for their own career paths, while providing them with the knowledge, skills, expertise, and exposure for them to reach their potential.
As our team of over 1000 nurses across UFH continues to grow, we make every effort toward supporting and practicing a model of patient-centered nursing care. We endeavor to establish and maintain a safe, respectful, healing, and caring environment for our nurses. We take pride in the knowledge, skills, and abilities of our nurses to better serve our patients and understand their needs. With the bilingual capabilities of our nurses, we ensure that we communicate well with both our international and local Chinese patients. Furthermore, UFH encourages nurses to learn, grow and to contribute towards excellent patient care experience through training and development programs.
UFH Nursing Philosopy
Nursing Scope of Services
- + Medical-Surgical (Inpatient and Outpatient)
- + Obstetrics and Gynecology (Inpatient and Outpatient)
- + Midwifery
- + Emergency Room
- + Adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
- + Pediatrics (Inpatient and Outpatient)
- + Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
- + Operating Room
- + Oncology
- + Multi-specialty Clinics (Dermatology, Eye, ENT, etc.)
- + Dental Nursing
- + Rehabilitation Nursing
- + ER
- + CSSD
Message From UFH Vice
President for Nursing Affairs
United Family Healthcare prides itself on our commitment to patients and their families to maintain the highest standards of quality in health care. Globally, nurses are playing an ever greater role in the future of medicine. The strength of our nursing team at UFH stands out as an important factor in the quality of care we provide to our patients. Our primary mission is to consistently deliver safe, high–quality, culturally-sensitive nursing care with professionalism, compassion and pride in our work. As Chief Nursing Officer, I am proud of the dedication our nurses make to improve the quality of care for each and every one of our patients and their families.
While most hospitals in China continue to implement task-oriented nursing as their model of care, UFH has adopted the nursing-process model to ensure the delivery of holistic, patient-focused care. The advantages of this model guarantee that the care patients receive is thoroughly planned, meets their individual and specific needs and provides a continuity of care. The ratio of one nurse for every three to four patients enables the successful delivery of planned care in a safe environment. We pride ourselves on the fact that our uncompromising standards of care greatly exceed local health bureau standards .
In all nursing and care-giving settings throughout our network, we deliver quality care in a family service-oriented environment. Known as the “4C’s of care,” our nurses strongly believe in the values of confidence, caring, comfort, and convenience to improve care. Other tools we use to enhance patient satisfaction include hourly rounding for inpatient care, allowing us to carefully listen to patients, drilling down issues and personalizing their care. Additionally, all our nurses system-wide follow a simple communications tool known as‘AIDET,’ which stems from our overall patient-centered philosophy. AIDET guides nurses to Acknowledge patients, clearly Introduce themselves, talk about the Duration of how long each encounter or procedure will take, Explain in detail what will happen, and Thank the visitor at the end. Together these values, systems and tools assist us in providing our uniquely diverse patient population speaking multiple native languages with the premium, individualized care they deserve.
As part of UFH’s efforts in fostering evidence-based clinical culture, we focus on enhancing our evidence-based nursing practices. Evidence-based nursing requires the integration of individual clinical expertise and patient preferences with the best external clinical evidence available to make better decisions on the care of individual patients or groups. To enhance our nurses’ clinical knowledge and competencies, we established an advanced simulation training environment. Additionally, our staff takes part in nursing conferences, seminars and web courses, as well as a nursing journal club in which they can share and discuss new research and advances in the nursing field.
Our nursing staff is highly experienced in a variety of clinical settings. A majority of our team members have obtained advanced nursing education, and many continue to pursue further training in order to better serve their patients and advance their careers. While we value our nursing staff’s further education, we equally value their clinical expertise. UFH nurses achieve an advanced level of competency in providing safe, quality care, but rather than simply ending their career as a professional nurse, we encourage them to further specialize within the clinical setting. While some choose to become nurse educators, others focus on leadership roles, nursing informatics, or specialist training. As a nursing leader, I am particularly proud of the career pathways we provide for our nurses, especially since specialized nursing still remains a nascent concept in China today.
Professionalism in nursing adds tremendous value and worth to the nursing profession, which is hailed as one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. The quality of the practice environment at UFH supports this professionalism. Our nurses have the autonomy to make decisions within the scope of nursing services, giving them a voice in developing evidence-based practices. This results in better outcomes for our patients.
The current health care environment presents special challenges to the nursing profession. With the addition of cultural diversity and language needs, UFH nurses are confronted with even greater challenges in meeting our ultimate goals. I would like to thank our dedicated team of nurses for the outstanding work they consistently provide, their mentoring of new staff, the pride they take in our profession, their advocacy on behalf of our patients and the legacy of excellence they uphold in treating you.
Shen Xiaoyan, RN
Vice President for Nursing Affairs
United Family Healthcare
Nursing Education
and Development
UFH is passionate about nursing education and development for our nurses. We ensure that our nurses are up-to-date with the current nursing practice along with role-enhancement courses to equip them in providing specialized care to our patients. Our nurse education and training is focused on improving and developing these four core-nursing competencies:
- 1
Clinical Competencies
- 2
Communication Skills
- 3
Professionalism and Customer Service
- 4
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Each facility has a dedicated team that coordinates all the training and education activities within the nursing department. The Nursing Education Department in Beijing and Shanghai are staffed with professional nurse educators who work closely with the nursing leadership, unit-based nurse educators, and life support instructors. Other facilities have nurse trainers and unit educators in charge of training the nurses. Training sessions utilize various teaching strategies including lecture discussions, case studies, role-playing, skills laboratory, and simulation scenarios. The simulation program, established in 2009 is equipped with high tech simulation equipment, partial trainers, and other equipment that simulate a real work environment.
Here is a preview of training courses and activities provided by the Nursing Education Department:
- + New Nurse Orientation
- + Nurse Residency Program (for New Graduate Nurses)
- + Life Support Courses:
- + Basic Life Support (BLS)
- + Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)
- + Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
- + Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)
- + Preceptorship Course
- + Patient Care Course (Customer Service Training)
- + Infection Control
- + Level 1 & 2 Nurses Training
- + Unit Educator Course
- + Physical Assessment Course
- + Leadership Training
- + Journal Club
- + Specialty Courses (ICU, NICU, OB, Pediatric, Oncology, Psychiatric Nursing and other specialty courses)
UFH Nursing
Promotion Program
We categorize our nurses into four levels based on their nursing experience and competency. Each level has different job responsibilities and benefits. UFH has developed a nursing promotion program, which takes place every year, to allow nurses to continually further develop their career. A promotion to the next level is contingent upon having the requisite experience and passing the promotion process. This process includes a written examination for nursing knowledge, a clinical performance evaluation, and an overall review by the nursing leadership group based on the job description. The promotion program takes place every year in October.
UFH Nurse Career Path
Nursing Opportunities within
United Family Healthcare
We are actively seeking registered nurses to provide a high quality of nursing care to our patients in UFH.
5 Things You Should Know
About Your UFH Nurse
There is more to a United Family Healthcare (UFH) nurse than meets the eye. Most people view nurses in China as merely the “doctor’s assistant” who takes your vital signs, draws blood, and asks a few questions. The UFH nurse is in a class above the rest. Patients and doctors have described UFH nurses as “the best,” “excellent,” “superb,” “quality,” “caring,” and “well-trained.” With over 1000 nurses, our nursing staff is the largest group within UFH, comprising of a committed cadre of healthcare professionals. Here are five reasons to re-think the way you view UFH nurses.
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1: No white caps
The hospital dress code at UFH does not include wearing what previously was the universal symbol of nursing – the white nurse’s cap. The cap that once symbolized dignity, dedication, and education has now become unnecessary. Many view caps as a reminder of the past, when nurses were viewed as “minions and maids.” Most importantly, caps can be a source of infection. What differentiates the UFH nursing staff is not what they wear, but what they do. Nurses are not relegated to merely following doctors’ orders; they collaborate with physicians and the entire healthcare team for better patient outcomes.
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2: Focus on care, not only the cure
The hospital dress code at UFH does not include wearing what previously was the universal symbol of nursing – the white nurse’s cap. The cap that once symbolized dignity, dedication, and education has now become unnecessary. Many view caps as a reminder of the past, when nurses were viewed as “minions and maids.” Most importantly, caps can be a source of infection. What differentiates the UFH nursing staff is not what they wear, but what they do. Nurses are not relegated to merely following doctors’ orders; they collaborate with physicians and the entire healthcare team for better patient outcomes.
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3: Putting a premium on education and training
What most patients do not see are the many hours their UFH nurse spends in training. Although all new hires have nursing education degrees, nursing licenses, and many have extensive experience practicing at the best public hospitals in China or abroad, the moment any nurse is hired at a UFH facility, he or she will go through to a two-day employee orientation, a three-day new nurse orientation, weeks of ward orientation, and six months of preceptor-guided practice. Within the first year of employment, UFH requires new nurses to attend customer service training, basic life support (BLS) training, infection control training, training with simulated case studies, training in a nursing skills laboratory, and other in-service training programs. Most UFH facilities employ Western-trained nurse educators with Bachelor’s of Science, Master’s, or PhD degrees in Nursing, to assess, plan, and implement training programs. New nursing graduates undergo a special 12-month program designed to ease their transition from student to well-trained nurse in an international-standard hospital. Trainers and educators also participate in training to ensure that they meet the learning needs of their staff. UFH Chief Nursing Officer Shen Xiaoyan also champions evidence-based nursing practice in the hospital. Initiatives that foster an evidence-based nursing environment include holding monthly journal clubs, developing research studies, and aligning policies and protocols with evidence based-nursing practices.
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4: Communication matters
To be a successful UFH nurse requires one to possess good communication skills. Equipped with bilingual abilities, nurses often serve as translators for foreign patients and doctors. They are trained to utilize communication tools such as AIDET (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, Thanks) and SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) Dealing with multicultural patients and managing their high expectations can be very challenging, but UFH nurses routinely navigate through these challenges as part of providing a great patient experience.
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5: Professional growth
UFH seeks to provide nurses with opportunities to grow and develop their nursing careers. The UFH career ladder for nurses consists of four different levels (Levels 1 through 4). Nurses can move up a level by passing an annual Promotion Exam. The Promotion Exam involves a written portion and a skills portion. The written test assesses knowledge and critical thinking regarding general nursing, each nursing specialty, and leadership. The skills simulation assesses a nurse’s real-time ability to deal with a variety of patient case scenarios. Senior nurses also have a chance to become Nurse Specialists and Nurse Unit Educators as well as other leadership positions, such as Head Nurse or Clinic Manager. An annual skills checklist also ensures that all nurses meet UFH nursing standards.
