Nursing Career Ladder
The Clinical Advancement for Professional Excellence (CAPE) Program is a WVU Medicine system-wide clinical advancement program (clinical ladder) for hospital-based, direct-care registered nurses. Clinical advancement programs are designed to enhance professional development, provide a reward system for quality clinical performance, promote quality nursing, and improve job satisfaction.
The Clinical Advancement for Professional Excellence (CAPE) Program
CAPE is a nursing program designed to enrich professional development, provide a reward system for advancing clinical professional practice, promote quality nursing, and improve job satisfaction. This contemporary program, designed by nurses for nurses, is focused on rewarding, recognizing, retaining, and recruiting inpatient direct-care nurses throughout WVU Medicine.
Nurses are rewarded and recognized for being charge nurses and precepting students and/or new employees. They are also recognized for elevating the voice of nursing on unit, hospital, or system-wide councils. Education and professional development are also recognized as ways to advance in the Program.
CAPE Conversations
WVU Medicine nurses discuss the benefits of the CAPE Program in videos produced as part of the CAPE Conversations series. The CAPE Program was designed by and continues to be guided by direct care nurses from across the WVU Medicine health system.
CAPE Levels and Requirements
Level 1
- Educational requirement: Diploma, ADN, BSN, or higher degree
- Years of experience requirement: Less than 1 year
- Professional certification requirement: None
- Competencies requirement: None
Level 2
- Educational requirement: Diploma, ADN, BSN, or higher degree
- Years of experience requirement: 1 year
- Professional certification requirement: None
- Competencies requirement: None
Level 3
- Educational requirement: Diploma, ADN, or BSN
- Years of experience requirement: 2 years
- Professional certification requirement: Preferred
- Competencies requirement: Charge nurse and/or preceptor
Level 4
- Educational requirement: BSN or 5 years experience with diploma/ADN
- Years of experience requirement: 3 years and BSN (or) 5 years and diploma/ADN
- Professional certification requirement: Required
- Competencies requirement: Charge nurse and/or preceptor (Competencies include demonstration of participation in quality improvement and/or shared governance at unit level)
Level 5
- Educational requirement: BSN or MSN (Consideration given to other health-related advanced degrees that would assist with direct patient care at the bedside)
- Years of experience requirement: 4 years and MSN (or) 4 years and BSN/health-related masters degree (or) 5 years and BSN
- Professional certification requirement: Required
- Competencies requirement: Charge nurse and/or preceptor (Competencies include demonstration of participation in quality improvement and/or shared governance at the organization level)
Level 6
- Educational requirement: MSN (Consideration given to other health-related advanced degrees that would assist with direct patient care at the bedside)
- Years of experience requirement: 7 years +
- Professional certification requirement: Required
- Competencies requirement: Charge nurse and/or preceptor (Competencies include demonstration of participation in quality improvement and/or shared governance at the system level)