NRS 440VN Combining Nurse Leader With Advocacy

Combining nurse leadership with advocacy

I am accountable and lead by example.  I feel this is one of my strengths.  I am able to communicate with fellow colleges articulately.  I have high expectations for myself and hold myself accountable.  My mother tells me that if you have a problem or issue, you own the issue and its yours until it is resolved.  It is part of the ANA code of ethics as well.  I have a strong grasp on healthcare economics and policy.  My understanding about reimbursement and operations is one of my strengths.  I can balance the budget and provide great patient care at the same time related to my departmental goals.  One of the areas I will need to improve is recruitment techniques and interviewing skills.  I always want to give everyone a chance and I need to learn what the red flags are that get raised when there is a candidate that may not be good for the organization.  I am great at conversing with people and truly understanding what their goals are and understand their circumstances.  I need to learn labor laws pertaining to hiring.  I will need to work closely with HR regarding policies related to identification of key skills for each role.  I have a strong understanding of PI tools.  Patient safety is one of my strengths.  Understanding organization behaviors, I will need some guidance in.  I have strong decision-making skills and problem-solving skills. 

      Career planning is one of my strengths.  I have the understanding to climb up the career ladder.  I am always striving for advancement and being challenged.  With my BSN, it will allow me more opportunities to advance.  I plan to continue for my MSN and maybe DNP.  I never really thought of going any further than MSN, but after this program and understanding the future of nursing goals it is of interest. I never would have thought I would pursue these advanced degrees.  I always wanted to get my RN and that’s it.  It has been an inspiring journey to get my BSN and I will not stop now.  I am going right into MSN courses as soon as I finish.  It is a great career and I truly love what I do every day.  I feel I can implement changes for the best.  It is a great program. 

      I have strong leadership qualities.  I currently manage the case management team at the hospital I work at currently.  My goal is to manage a much bigger team of case managers and social workers at the acute level of care.  It has been a barrier to be able to get into manage in the acute care setting without having the BSN degree.  With this degree and continuing my education further it will be a reality I am sure.  I am a strong believer that if I’m not challenged, I need to move on.  I know when I get to where I can do my job with very little effort, it is time for me to move on.  I need to be challenged and I need to be fixing issues.  In case management where I currently work, it is a challenging position.  I am responsible for making sure patients are being discharged to the most appropriate setting at the most appropriate time for the hospital to maximize reimbursement.  Of course, my patient always comes first.   It gets challenging talking with the CEO and CFO regarding optimal discharge dates but always keeping in mind the patient’s current medical status.  The patient’s medical status is always my number one concern.   It is a challenging field and being able to balance the two can be very complex.  I have a strong grasp on healthcare reimbursement and some of the changes that need to take place for success.  One of the big changes I would like to be involved in is the skilled nursing facilities being able to take on a higher acuity patient.  If Medicare/Medicaid services would pay the SNF a little more reimbursement, It could allow them to be able to take on the higher acuity patient and keep patient’s out of the emergency rooms.  Another big one is having physicians on the ambulances when they are called out for emergencies.  It would allow a physician to make the call if its warranted a ER visit or not.  These are just a few things I would like to research and change for healthcare.  It would benefit the patients overall and would change the healthcare system for the better.