Nurse roadmap supports direct care nurses

University of Maryland Medical System nurse leaders discuss how they developed a standardized nursing roadmap, a five-phase developmental framework outlining how nurses advance from orientation through experienced practice into leadership roles. Writing in the Voice of Nursing Leadership’s May issue, they describe how each phase identifies suggested milestones and competencies supporting progressive professional growth. The Baltimore-based system uses the roadmap in its 11 hospitals. Nursing leaders introduce the roadmap at a nurse’s hiring, review it annually and track its use through a web-based dashboard. The dashboard provides visibility across the system, identifying high-performing units and supporting best practice dissemination. The transparency augments alignment between a nurse’s career goals and organizational priorities, supporting nurse retention and engagement by making advancement pathways clear and equitable.