Saddleback Medical Center is a 248-bed acute-care hospital offering services in nearly every medical specialty with approximately 600 nurses. More than 70% have earned their BSN. Our nurses have achieved board certifications in more than 40 different nursing specialties attributing to our high-quality patient care and great outcomes. The hospital is widely recognized for providing high-quality patient care. Our centers of excellence are renowned for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer, heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and orthopedics; and for our leadership in emergency medicine, breast health, age-friendly care, and surgery, including robotic-assisted procedures, advanced imaging, neurosurgery and women’s health.
Saddleback Medical Center nurses and employees participate in activities in support of our community and donate to MemorialCare’s Philanthropic foundation which serves our patients, work environment and community. Our employees support important causes like the American Heart Association’s Heart and Stroke Walk, the Orange County Walk to End Alzheimer’s and the March of Dimes, annual March for Babies. Saddleback Medical Center is proud to be Magnet™ designated since 2017 reflecting our nursing leadership successful alignment of strategic goals to improve the organization’s patient outcomes. Our nursing excellence benefits the whole of our organization. Our nurses have education and development through every career stage and use great autonomy in their coordination of patient care.
Through the Good Life employee wellness program, our organization fosters a culture of wellness. Staff can access this comprehensive, active program aimed at nurturing wellness by partnering with employees to increase physical activity, focus on healthy eating, better manage chronic diseases, emotional well-being classes, and helpful wellness information provided in a customized app to help support and guide each employee through their individual wellness journey.
At Saddleback Medical Center, staff provide feedback to leadership in daily huddles, leadership rounding, shared governance councils, town hall meetings, through our Top Workplace survey, and through an annual confidential employee satisfaction survey, conducted by Press-Ganey.
The Saddleback Medical Center philosophy of nursing is driven by and supportive of the mission, vision and values of the MemorialCare Health System.
Through caring, compassion and clinical excellence, our mission is to create an environment in which patients and families can heal – body, mind and spirit.
To be a leader in providing patient-centered, compassionate, high-quality nursing care focusing on the unique needs of all patients and their families.
Our nurses respect a person’s individuality and support all individuals towards self-care through human interaction.
Our nurses value caring is a basic human need that promotes health and individual or family growth.
Nursing is an art and science, with the focus of professional practice to assist individuals, families and communities, in varying degrees of health and wellness, in achieving optimum health and well-being as defined by the patient and/or family. This assistance includes but is not limited to preventative healthcare, education, recovery and continued patient and family support through illness, disability or death.
Nursing professional practice at Saddleback Medical Center is grounded in a model that fosters interprofessional partnerships and teamwork, values each team member’s role in achievement of quality outcomes, accountability for investing in decision-making and ownership of the work of nursing. Our nurses are empowered to contribute collectively to the decision-making process related to patient care, nursing practice and the work environment. Shared governance empowers direct-care nurses to collaboratively make decisions affecting their practice. Saddleback Medical Center’s successful shared governance has strong leadership support, strong communication methods and time to achieve shared goals and strategic priorities. Nurses have many opportunities to be involved in councils, committees, projects, nurse champions, Lean events and much more.
Our Professional Practice Model provides and illustrates the framework for our professional nursing practice & interprofessional patient care; how we collaborate, communicate, & develop professionally to provide the highest quality care to those we serve.
Meaningful recognition is part of our culture at Saddleback Medical Center.
Advancement Program for Professional Staff (APPlS): APPlS is our clinical advancement program recognizing and rewarding professional nurses demonstrating a high level of engagement in promoting the practice and image of nursing.
DAISY Recognitions: Patients, families or co-workers may submit a story about a nurse, a team of nurses, and nurse leaders, who demonstrated compassionate care and clinical skills, exemplifying the kind of nurses who are recognized as outstanding role models.
Preceptor of the Year: This award reflects the value of the preceptee-preceptor relationship. It recognizes an exemplary preceptor for their guidance another nurse in a learning role.
Nurse of the Year: This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of a registered nurse and is presented for performance excellence among the Magnet® Model components. The Nurse of the Year exhibits Simply Better behavior and supports the mission, vision and values of MemorialCare
Nurse Luminary Award: This award is intended to recognize outstanding contributions to nursing science through the generation, translation, & dissemination of nursing knowledge to advance & guide nursing practice.
iCare about You: The iCare About You fund gives employees an opportunity to provide support and encouragement to co-workers to proactively prevent compassion fatigue or burnout due to challenging work-related circumstances such as: difficult or demanding patient situations, unexpected patient death, difficult interactions with patients/families/customers or other individuals or managing a difficult situation. There are various items that can be given to a coworker varying from a meal or coffee gift certificate, cup of tea, dark chocolate or any item from the gift shop under $10.00. Employees are encouraged to provide a notecard with words of encouragement to the recipient.
The Nurse Residency Program (NRP) at Saddleback Medical Center is designed to support novice nurses as they transition to professional practice into multiple specialty areas including, but not limited to, Neurosciences and Orthopedics, LDRP, Oncology/General Surgery, Emergency Services, Acute Medical Unit, and Intensive Care Unit.
The NRP lasts for the first full year of employment and includes:
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