Indiana Nursing Quarterly Fall 2012

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ursing

Doing the right thing with your moral compass

CAREERS & TRAINING:

Preparing for your interview

Q U A R T E R LY

YOUR WORLD:

Lessons learned from patients

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Inside

On the Pulse

5 Nurses influence legislation through outreach

6-7 How not to become

a Nurse Ratchet

Jacquelyn Reno-Kriech RN, is a hospital supervisor at Wishard Health Services.

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Cover photo: Marc Lebryk

Advertising Outside sales and events supervisor

Carrie Bernhardt (317) 444-7288 carrie.bernhardt@indystar.com

Content

Clips & Tips

8 Telemedicine is taking health

care into the future

Cover Story 10-15 M oral Courage Careers & Training 16 Going for certification 18-19 Ace the interview

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Cover:

Your World 21 5 lessons my patients taught me 22 Q&A with Kim Harper

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Contributing writers

Lori Darvas Shari Held Rosemarie Kelly Karen Murray Shauna Nosler Ashley Petry

Graphic designer

Joe Soria

Photos

Marc Lebryk

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Salute to Nurses Has a nurse made a The Indianapolis Star’s difference in your life?

Salute to Nurses Nominate a nurse for Nurse of the Year today!

Go to IndyStar.com/nursing and click on “nominate.”

All Nurse of the Year entries are submitted via the Web site. Nominations must be received by Feb. 2, 2013.

Please direct questions to 317-444-7350.

2012

NURSE of the YEAR Advancement in Nursing

Beth Tharp

Community Hospital Anderson

By Karen Murray

On the Pulse

Nurses influence legislation through outreach When legislators debate policies that could impact the nursing profession, the Indiana State Nurses Association becomes a proactive participant.

The ISNA’s lobbyists and staff members monitor general assembly sessions, testify at committee hearings and persuade lawmakers to understand nurses’ perspectives.

Individual ISNA members add their own voices to policy discussions, too. Through personal appeals, they command lawmakers’ attention to sway opinions and earn votes.

Creating a unified narrative | “Organizations need to have a voice in the political arena,” said Jennifer Embree, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CCNS, board president of Embree ISNA. “Part of political advocacy is having relationships with local legislators and helping them to understand the issues.”

Professional groups like ISNA often influence policy decisions. Ernest Klein, RN, CAE, executive director, believes advocacy succeeds through effective organizations and individual efforts.

“The most effective way to influence legislation is for our members to contact their own local legislators directly, using the association’s public policy platform as a guide,” said Klein, who has led ISNA for 12 years.

Focusing on patient health | ISNA crafts policy positions that promote patient

health, safety and rights and align with the profession’s ethical standards. As lawmakers and community leaders address standards and reforms, ISNA helps nurses influence the eventual outcome. The organization articulates its stance, provides contact information for decision makers and shares other resources for members.

Activism for better health | When ISNA members take time to comment on a town hall meeting, contact lawmakers with input and share news with peers on social media, they help reinforce the nursing profession’s values and direction. Together, their voices communicate a message that is difficult to ignore.

“Collectively, we have a louder voice,” Embree said.

ISNA’s legislative outreach ultimately advances the well-being of citizens statewide.

“We’re a service profession, and we’re also in the business of supporting healthy life styles and educating people to make healthy decisions for a better quality of life,” Embree added. “With our priority on patient care, nurses can be part of the solution.” ■

From small-town Indiana to D.C. The Indiana State Nurses Association simultaneously monitors large national issues and local health concerns.

One trend the group is working to reverse is the decreased hiring of full-time school nurses in Indiana, said Ernest Klein, ISNA executive director.

“The presence of a nurse depends on a

school district’s budget or its philosophy,” he said. “Today, one registered nurse may have three or four schools to take care of.”

When a school nurse is responsible for so many students, children’s health care may suffer as a result.

Jennifer Embree, board president of ISNA, expects that teamwork will increase within the

profession as more components of the federal Affordable Care Act are enacted.

“We will be providing more interprofessional care,” she said. “The Affordable Care Act will require increased collaboration among disciplines: nurses, advanced practice nurses, physicians and allied health care providers across the continuum of care.”

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On the Pulse

not

By Shauna Nosler

How to become

Nurse Ratched

THINKSTOCK

Practical advice for young nursing professionals If you’re new to nursing, you With their guidance, you can grow strong in can benefit from these practical your career — and avoid turning into Nurse pieces of advice from seasoned Ratched, the heartless battleaxe immortalized in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” professionals.

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Theresa Anderson, RN, MBA, BSN, the chief nursing officer at St. Vincent Seton Specialty Hospital, advises nurses of all ages and career stages to ask lots of questions.

“I wish early on I would’ve asked more of the ‘why’ questions,” she said.

“As a longstanding nurse leader, we are afraid of new nurses who don’t ask questions. That makes us nervous in regard to patient safety.”

Anderson’s mother, a diploma graduate nurse, taught her long ago that the more you ask, the more you will learn.

“Learning, whether formally or in a role, is a lifelong process. Continuous learning makes you a better practitioner,” Anderson said.

Formal education is important, too, said Mary Lawson Carney, MSN, RN, of Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. She completed her BSN degree 30 years after beginning her nursing studies and recently earned a master’s degree from Western Governors University. The degrees matter more to her now than when she was younger, though she wishes she’d completed her education earlier.

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Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Suzi Schoon of Community Regional Cancer Center, advises to think of nursing as more than a career.

Nursing may be a good, stable job in a tough economy, but it demands a lifetime of service. Those who pursue nursing must understand that it’s about much more than future career opportunities.

“Call me old-fashioned, but in my opinion you are called into a lifetime of service when you become a nurse,” Carney explained. “If you look at it as just a stable job, when you find out how difficult it is you will not be fulfilled or satisfied with your choice.”

Suzi Schoon, BSN, MSN, PhD, has seen the results of this ill-conceived approach. At the Community Regional Cancer Center, she has worked side-by-side with several nurses who put in only enough time to obtain a tangible item, like a new refrigerator or washing machine. Those kinds of nurses typically don’t last long in the profession.

“You have to find where your heart is, because your life and others' lives depend on it,” she said.

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Don’t go into nursing just because it’s a stable field.

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Mary Lawson Carney, of Payton Manning Hospital, is a believer of asking questions throughout your nursing career.

Enthusiasm is a great quality in any young professional. But when an overeager nurse has a strong desire to advance, mistakes and even failure may result.

Carney once accepted a promotion she was not prepared for.

“I was flattered by the suggestion and realize now that I was nowhere near as mature and experienced as I should have been,” she said. “I made many mistakes in judgment which, had I had a few more years of experience under my belt, would not have happened. Lesson learned.”

The better choice is to have patience until your experience matches the job requirements.

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Don’t be too eager to advance.

Female nurses on TV shows might wear their hair down or don high heels for 12-hour shifts. In reality, nurses need that ponytail and comfortable shoes.

Schoon remembers when nursing shoes were more expensive than casual shoes. In those days, she literally wore the pricy shoes until they were laden with holes.

Today’s nurses can choose from more affordable options. Schoon recommends keeping two to three pairs handy and switching them on and off throughout each shift.

“In this profession, your feet are everything,” she said.

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Don’t forget the little things (like your feet).

Above all else in nursing, always mind your manners.

“One of the most important pieces of advice I can give young nurses is to realize that everyone plays a meaningful role.

You should communicate equally with all of them,” Schoon said. “Be assertive, learn about conflict resolution and don’t ever talk about another nurse behind her back. That’s how rumors start, and in the medical profession that’s never a good thing.”

Nurses should remember that they are advocates for the nursing profession, Anderson noted. They must strive to be compassionate and listen carefully to patients and their guests.

“We communicate not only with our words, but with our body language,” she explained. “It means so much to take a few minutes and sit down and listen. Part of the St. Vincent mission statement says that the poor will come and the rich will come if they know they are going to be treated as people.

How true those words ring.” ■

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Don’t be rude to anyone.

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Clips & Tips

By Lori Darvas

Telemedicine is taking health care into the future

A generation ago, worried mothers could call the doctor and describe their child’s symptoms. The doctor would listen, form a diagnosis and call in a prescription to a nearby pharmacy.

Medicine has come a long way in a few short years. Most doctors today won’t prescribe an antibiotic based on a parent’s vague description.

But one element of this exchange has remained and is now a key part of what’s called “telemedicine.”

Telemedicine, according to the American Telemedicine Association, is the exchange of medical information through electronic communication.

Nationwide, the practice helps providers monitor and care for patients more efficiently and costeffectively.

Telemedicine has a local presence in the form of hospital telephone hotlines for worried parents and video transmissions that enable intrastate consultations.

“Telemedicine is really providing access to services that may not be immediately available if you’re at a distance,” says Doug Lawrence, MSM, PMP, manager of telemedicine for IU Health.

Helping the smallest patients| Shelly King, BSN, RN, CPNP, director of Riley Hospital for Children’s pediatric urology department, uses telemedicine to treat patients as far away as Evansville.

She literally “sees” patients and their parents on a video screen. All parties can have a conversation, while an onsite nurse performs any needed exams. The patients see themselves and King on the video screen, and the camera can transmit close-up images of healing incisions, strange rashes or other issues.

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Tech-friendly kids love the setup, King said. Parents might not be used to communicating through a TV screen, but they appreciate being able to see a professional from one of the nation’s top hospitals without taking time off or making the long drive.

“We can save a lot of patients a lot of travel time,” King noted. “It’s great that the patients don’t have to get into a car for several hours.”

Taking the lead on telehealth |Veterans also benefit from telemedicine, though the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs uses the broader term “telehealth” to encompass care from varied clinical professionals. The VA Darkins offers telehealth in 44 specialty areas, including diabetes, heart failure and post-traumatic stress disorder, said Dr. Adam Darkins, chief consultant for care coordination.

The process has been studied extensively and is shown to reduce hospital admissions and travel costs while maintaining a satisfaction rate of about 90 percent, Darkins said.

Technology can’t do it all, of course.

Patients often require a human touch, whether it’s a calming hand on the shoulder or a face-to-face description of what will happen when the camera rolls or the phone line buzzes. “(Nurses) are care coordinators who use case-management skills to help veterans at risk of longterm institutional care to live independently in their homes and local communities,” Darkins said.

Indeed, King relies on nurses to prepare patients for the video experience. They may need to explain the telemedicine process or assure parents that the internet connection is secure and private. The video experience allows King to see patients,

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but she may also need an onsite nurse to manually check a wound or anomaly. For their part, nurses receive special training to use the equipment and understand the vocabulary, which ensures that medical professionals at each site are using the same language.

Looking long term | Leaders at Wishard Health Services are considering whether to implement telemedicine, but they haven’t established a formal program, said Tracy Martin, RN, MSN, emergency department director. Martin can see the program’s potential, especially in a setting like Wishard, which has significant trauma expertise.

Telemedicine may be an asset for patients who aren’t easily able to travel, such as nursing home residents and even prison inmates.

Even with all of the positives, telemedicine has limitations. Cost is one major issue. Plus, hospitals have to be sure their electronic equipment is compatible with partner facilities, Martin explained.

Wishard routinely offers some elements of telemedicine. Nurses are available around the clock to speak with people who call the Health Connections hotline, (317) 655-2255.

Emergency room staff members can talk to non-English-speaking patients with help from My Accessible Real Time Trusted Interpreter, or MARTTI. The system employs interpreters who are available remotely to help patients and caregivers communicate.

“When we get on, the patient can see the person on the screen, and they can see us,” Martin said.

Medical professionals agree that telemedicine will grow and become a larger part of routine health care.

“I really think technology will explode,” King said. “(Telemedicine is) going to impact health care in the future and make it much more efficient.” ■

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Moral a key to compassionate care 10

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By Ashley Petry

Cover Story

Every day, nurses face situations that call for moral courage — that intense internal drive to do the right thing.

For Jacquelyn Reno-Kriech, RN, a nursing hospital supervisor at Wishard Health Services for more than a decade, that situation arose one spring in 2009.

A police officer brought in a female patient who was found sitting on a downtown sidewalk, rocking a baby doll and refusing to speak.

Jacquelyn Reno-Kriech has faced moral challenges in her careers as a nurse.

Continued on Page 14 Continued on Page 14 MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Cover Story

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The woman had no identification other than a first name written on her backpack. A search of her fingerprints in the police database yielded no clues.

At Wishard, doctors diagnosed the patient as profoundly mentally retarded. Their immediate concern was to get her safely home.

Reno-Kriech was tasked with solving the mystery of the patient’s identity. First, she sat and spoke with the patient, holding her hand and offering assurance. When the patient still wouldn’t speak, Reno-Kriech got permission to look inside the backpack.

The longtime nurse was troubled by what she found. The bag contained a few helpful clues: a bookstore receipt and a blood-glucose monitor with a traceable serial number. More disturbing was a skilled drawing that showed children being abused and murdered, and animals being sacrificed.

Reno-Kriech asked the patient if she’d drawn the picture. The patient denied it, but Reno-Kriech suspected the drawing was hers anyway — and that home may not be a safe place for her.

Some staff members dismissed the nurse’s concerns.

After all, a profoundly retarded woman couldn’t create such a detailed drawing, they said.

The easy choice for Reno-Kriech would have been to accept the initial diagnosis and get on with her next task. Instead, she had the moral courage to stand up for her patient.

So she set about convincing her peers that the diagnosis was wrong and the woman was in trouble.

“I was afraid she was going to slip through the cracks, and I wanted to make sure we didn’t let her go back to wherever she came from if she wasn’t safe,” Reno-Kriech said. “I tried to stand up for what I thought was ethically right for her, when I felt she didn’t have a voice.”

Cracking the case | For several days,

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Reno-Kriech spent every possible minute with her patient, even visiting on her day off. She brought paper, pencils, markers and other art supplies to the patient’s room and asked for more drawings. The patient produced beautiful pictures, all with the same skill as the original sketch found in the backpack.

In the early hours one morning, Reno-Kriech once again sat with the patient, saying she wanted to keep her safe. The woman turned to her and suddenly began to cry. Soon, she told her story.

She had been abused as a child, she said. She eventually bore a child by her stepfather. When the baby was just days old, the stepfather murdered the child. The woman suffered a mental breakdown and was institutionalized as a result.

In the group home where she was placed, the woman faced harsh punishments.

Though she received Social Security payments, she was not able to access the money to buy art supplies. One week before, she had escaped from the home and hitchhiked to Indianapolis. But she arrived in town during the 500 Festival Parade, and the large crowd of spectators caused her to panic.

Reno-Kriech promptly confirmed the patient’s story and corrected the misdiagnosis of mental retardation.

But she didn’t stop there. She also led a charge to find the woman a better, healthier living situation — a group home where she could pursue her artistic interests.

The Wishard nurse continues to communicate frequently with her former patient, who is doing well in her new home.

For Reno-Kriech, the experience underscores why nurses should strive to give patients a voice, even when it requires moral courage to do so.

“It more so has drawn me toward patients who can’t stand up for themselves,” she said. “I already thought I was a patient advocate, but because of this I’m more driven

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toward making sure that everyone has a voice and making sure we’re not missing something.”

Understanding moral distress | When nurses aren’t able to achieve positive outcomes, they may experience moral distress. Many health care professionals face the emotion at some point.

The term “moral distress” isn’t well defined in the profession, said Kim Walton, chief clinical officer for behavioral care services at Community Health Network.

It’s generally characterized as a psychological imbalance that occurs when nurses know the right thing to do but are constrained from doing it.

“We’re just starting to look at this,” Walton said. “It’s not a new problem, but I think it’s getting a little more attention right now.”

Sometimes the constraint is time — not having enough hours to spend with patients who need extra attention.

The constraint also can result from limited resources. Perhaps a patient needs a treatment but can’t pay for it, or nurses themselves need resources their employer can’t afford to provide.

Sometimes the constraint is a family member or physician who disagrees with the nurse about appropriate care.

This situation tends to arise in end-oflife situation.

“We as nurses are asking, ‘What are the goals here? Why are we putting the patient through this suffering?’

And sometimes there is no mechanism to talk about that,” said Francesca Levitt, MSN, RN-BC, ACNS-BC, a clinical nurse specialist at St. Vincent Health. “The stress comes when you recognize there are competing goals, and you have to have the courage to facilitate an honest and meaningful conversation.”

For Levitt, that conversation came with a cancer patient whose husband was trying — and failing — to care for her at home. Levitt discussed the woman’s goals for her care and learned how they differed from her husband’s efforts. She was then able to connect the patient with needed resources, even when it took moral courage to contradict the husband.

Walton herself experienced moral

distress during a disagreement with a previous employer. She objected to the administrators’ staffing level, and ultimately decided to leave the job. At the time, the single mother of three didn’t have another job to turn to.

“Those decisions weigh very heavily on nurses who come into health care with high ideals about patient care and high levels of compassion,” Walton said.

In the short term, moral distress can delay decision-making and response times, and contribute to feelings of dissatisfaction and anxiety. Over the long term, continued distress can lead to headaches, sleeplessness, compassion fatigue, burnout and other physical symptoms. For employers, the issue can cause absenteeism and hinder nurse retention.

“When you get to chronic stress, you get up in the morning and you don’t want to go. You’re not totally engaged when you’re there, and your relationships with co-workers and patients change,” Walton said.

Addressing the problem | As nurses embrace more autonomy in their careers, supervisors become the first line of defense against moral distress

— and can serve as visible examples of moral courage.

“In an ideal world, they’re rolemodeling patient advocacy and safety, and they’re visible and have an open door so that nurses can say, ‘I see this, I’m concerned about this, I need help knowing what to do,’ ” Walton said.

The next step is to educate all health care professionals — not just nurses — about moral distress. The subject is not always covered in ethics courses, which tend to focus on scenarios that have two potential right answers. In moral distress, the nurse knows the right answer but can’t implement the solution.

Employers also should create organizational structures that encourage nurses to address their concerns, Levitt said. Ethics committees and network compliance officers are two possibilities. Ideally, nurses should have a way to express concerns anonymously if they choose.

“The more you recognize it and put it out in the open, the more nurses can recognize when it’s happening and be able to tap into the appropriate interventions to come to a resolution,” Levitt said.

Employers who address moral

MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Francesca Levitt, a clinical nurse specialist at St. Vincent Health believes that stress comes from competing goals and it takes moral courage to facilitate a positive end result.

distress with their nurses have higher retention rates and higher patientsatisfaction ratings.

“We want to retain the nurses who have the moral courage to step up and say, ‘Wait a minute. This is not the way it should be,’” Walton said. ■

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Careers & Training

By Shari Held

Going for certification When it comes to the nursing profession, no one can have too much education.

But not having enough can certainly put the brakes on a promising career.

That’s a strong reason to become certified in your field. | “Certification is a good way to market yourself,” said Brandee Wornhoff, MSN, RN, at Hendricks Regional Health. Also a CNS-BC, Wornhoff holds the clinical nurse specialist certification. “As an advance practice nurse, certification goes along with your role.”

Donna Austgen, MSN, RN, is a clinical education specialist for Hancock Regional Hospital who used to work as a hiring manager. She knows firsthand that certification gives nurses certain advantages.

“If I had two great candidates who both interviewed well and had the same credentials, except one held a certification, I’d look at the person who held that certification,” Austgen said. “It shows your level of commitment to that area.”

Certifications are available in most nursing specialties. Popular options today include the CNOR certification for perioperative nurses, the CCRN for critical care nurses and the OCN for oncology specialists.

Expert status | Becoming more marketable is just one of the reasons nurses pursue certifications.

“When someone is certified, they’ve truly become an expert in that field,” Austgen said. “I feel nurses, when they are certified, are able to deliver the best care because they have an expanded knowledge base.”

According to Wornhoff, certified nurses tend to feel more empowered because their competency and expertise are validated. That experience can boost collaboration within health care teams and ultimately contribute to better patient outcomes.

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MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Donna Austgen, at Hancock Regional Hospital formerly worked as a hiring manager; and knows the advantage of certification for nurses.

What’s involved | When you are interested in increasing your nursing knowledge and education, ask members of your professional associations about the types of credentials they hold. Some certifications are more valued, and credentialing bodies vary. The requirements for each certification vary, too, so you’ll need to do research first to ensure you’re up to the task.

All certifications require work experience in a particular discipline.

To begin, nurses must complete an application and pay a testing fee of $200 or more. When the applicant is approved by the certifying organization, he or she is notified of the testing date and time.

A good strategy, Austgen said, is to have an accountability partner help you prepare for the test.

“It’s easy to say you don’t have time to study, so you need to have a goal and stick to it,” she said.

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Study tools can help. Some certification programs offer classroom review sessions, online courses, DVDs and books.

“There are also computerized practice exams available for getting you acclimated to the testing procedure, which is computerized,” Wornhoff said. “As we look across nursing in terms of all the generations that exist, not everyone is equally equipped for computerized testing.

That’s an important piece to get yourself used to.”

Maintaining certification is an ongoing process. Nurses must show evidence of continuing education and keep up-to-date with practice standards. Certifications must be renewed periodically, typically every five years.

“You have to be passionate and really committed to that specific area of nursing,” Austgen said. “It’s not for the faint-hearted.” ■

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Careers & Training

Shari Held

Melanie Ayers, senior executive health care recruiter for Manta Resources, Inc., shows off their newest iPad App.

MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Ace the interview Whether you’re looking for the first nursing position in your career or you’re ready to move up the ladder, you should prepare for that critical part of the job hunt: the interview.

Follow Indiana Nursing Quarterly on Twitter @IndianaNursing 18

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The initial phone screening and first face-to-face contact are vital to securing the right opportunity.

Practice the strategies here to shine in the spotlight of your next interview.

Health care facilities are now seeking nurses who have specific experience and can hit the ground running. For recent graduates, that may be an obstacle.

Melanie Ayers, senior executive health care recruiter for Manta Resources, Inc., urges student nurses to forego rotations and instead specialize to gain an advantage.

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Prep for success | Education is another key.

“Know as much as you can about the position, the hiring authorities and the direction and culture of the department and facility, even before that phone interview,” Ayers said.

Review the company’s website to fill in some of these blanks, and use LinkedIn to learn about the people who conduct interviews.

“Try to find two or three commonalities between you and a hiring authority so you can make a personal connection, whether it’s that you attended the same school or belong to the same organization,” Ayers said.

Gain a solid understanding of facts and details so you can respond effectively in the interview. Prepare answers to these common prompts: What courses help you qualify for this

Careers & Training position? What extern positions have you held? What experience do you have? Describe your interactions with patients.

Be sure you are comfortable talking about your future career plans.

“If an employer knows you are going to continue to advance your education, you are much more marketable to that organization,” said Gina Stanley, project manager for health careers at EmployIndy. “A lot of hospitals in town are changing their hiring practices beginning in January.

If they hire you as an ASN, you’ll have to sign a contract saying that within five years you will become a BSN. (If you don’t), you’ll be terminated.

Nurses need to know things like this when preparing for their interview.”

Fielding face-to-face | In the phone interview, employers want to learn a few basic facts about you. For the next step — the in-depth interview — your personality should come into play.

Prepare to give your most professional, polished effort. Wear

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a suit and take care with your appearance to create a positive first impression.

Bring several copies of your resume, maintain eye contact with your interviewer and communicate clearly and concisely.

“From the minute you walk into an organization, all eyes are on you — even though you may not realize it,” Stanley said.

An employer client once commented that a nursing candidate unknowingly rode in the elevator with the hiring team. Fortunately, she had a smile on her face and held the door for a wheelchair-bound patient.

The candidate’s skills and resume were good, but her behavior outside the interview ultimately netted her the job.

“That was the real selling point,” Stanley said.

When you really want a position, don’t be afraid to say so.

MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Gina Stanley, project manager fat EmployIndy is busy keeping track of the new changes in hiring ASNs that will take affect in January.

“Let them know you can be a great asset to the team and why,” Ayers said. “Then ask for the job. Nine times out of 10, you won’t get the offer right then, but they’ll know you’re ready to take the next step.” ■

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Your World

By Rosemarie Kelly

lessons my patients taught me

Show compassion.

Five nurses in various career stages recently talked about important lessons they’ve learned from patients.

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A singular experience taught third-year nurse Eric Newsom, RN, BSN, to show more compassion to each patient.

Newsom was working in neural critical care at IU Health Methodist Hospital. One woman in his care had serious bleeding in her brain and was experiencing muscle spasms.

On a particularly busy day, the patient asked Newsom to move her right leg to help stretch out her thigh. He performed the task, albeit grudgingly.

Newsom regretted his poor attitude

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when he learned the woman died a day later.

“I learned it’s always good to have an attitude check because it might be the last chance I have to make a difference in a person’s life,” he said. “It would have made a difference to me that day if I had been compassionate on the inside and on the outside.”

Life is fragile.

Donetta Gee-Weiler, RN, BSN, is a practice administrator for Clearvista Women’s Care.

Patients have taught her just

MARC LEBRYK / Custom Publications

Donetta Gee-Weiler, a practice administrator for Clearvista Women’s Care, knows from personal experience that tragedy can help a nurse with every stage of their career path.

how fragile life is.

“In today’s society, we have wonderful doctors and great medicine, and we have a false sense of security where we think we can fix everything,” she said.

Yet death is a fact of life and a constant part of the nursing profession.

“Tragedies are happening every day, and truly at any moment it can all change,” Gee-Weiler said. “I feel truly blessed to help people cope and to bring them comfort.”

Seek connections.

Tara Simon, RN, BSN, CCRN, has learned to treat each patient as an individual.

“You have to find a way to connect with them on some level and how they like to be approached,” said Simon, a nurse of 16 years and the ICU manager at Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville. “Some patients like to have their hand held or like you to sit down and talk to them.”

For Simon, connecting with patients leads to healing.

“Once you get to know them on an individual basis, you can better help them heal and achieve the best quality of life they can.”

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Little things mean a lot.

Several significant experiences have taught Chelsea Adams, RN, BC, BSN, that even small gestures can provide motivation, healing and comfort.

“I had a patient who was down in the dumps, and I asked if there was anything I could do to help her,” recalled Adams, who works at IU Health Methodist Hospital. “She told me, ‘Oh honey, you already have helped me with your beautiful smile.’ Little things can make things go so much smoother.”

Patients are like family.

In her 24 years of nursing, Brigitte Battle, RN, BSN, of Wishard Health Services, has learned to do for patients what she’d do for her own family members.

“I had an intern who told a patient she could wait for her pain medicine. I took her aside and said, ‘That’s your mother waiting for her pain medicine. How long do you want her to wait now?’ She decided to administer the medicine right away,” Battle said. “We have to remember our patients are someone’s mother, father, brother and sister and deserve the best care.” ■

pubs@indystar.com.

Indiana Nursing Quarterly

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indystar.com/nursing

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Fall 2012

21

Your World

By Karen Murray

with Kim

Harper

The Indiana Center for Nursing is a fairly new organization, formed in 2011 when the Indiana Nursing Workforce Development Coalition, Nursing 2000 and Nursing 2000 North merged into one nonprofit organization.

What are your primary responsibilities as executive director?

In your role as ICN’s executive director, what has surprised you the most?

“My biggest surprise was how quickly the organization took root and grew. In our first year, we had predicted that 25 to 30 member organizations might join, and already we have nearly 50 organizations representing individual health systems, schools of nursing and professional nursing organizations.

More are joining every month.”

How does ICN collaborate with nursing leaders and organizations?

What goals are you pursuing at ICN? “We bring together nursing leaders from both education and practice, and our board of directors includes a representative from each participating organization. Recently, the board unanimously approved our strategic plan, focusing on five areas: building a nursing workforce data infrastructure, supporting nursing scholarships and tuition assistance, creating and maintaining education/services alliances, designing Indiana nursing’s future and implementing strategies and outcome measures as ‘One Voice, One Center for Indiana Nursing.’”

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Indiana Nursing Quarterly

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indystar.com/nursing

“The majority of my time is spent meeting with Indiana’s nursing leaders. Traveling from Valparaiso to Evansville and everywhere between, I meet frequently with my nursing colleagues to share information about the Indiana Center for Nursing and the work of the Indiana Action Coalition.

Serving as executive director of our statewide nursing center allows me to build relationships with and in between nurses at all levels.”

“ICN truly brings all of nursing together to the same table. We partner with many organizations, including the Indiana Organization of Nurse Executives, the Council of Indiana Deans and Directors in Nursing Education, the Indiana State Nurses Association, the Indiana State Board of Nursing and the Indiana Hospital Association, among others.

With nursing educators and nursing executives working together to create models of education and practice that are completely evidence-based, we’re making long-term changes that will result in better-prepared nurses, safer nursing practice and better outcomes.”

• Fall 2012

SUBMITTED

Position:

E xecutive director, Indiana Center for Nursing

Education:

S, University of Southern B Indiana; MS, Indiana Wesleyan University

Experience: E xecutive director, Nursing 2000; president, National Association for Health Care Recruiters; vice president for public affairs, Wishard Health Services; vice president of operations, Wishard Foundation You are very enthusiastic about your job and the future of nursing in the state. Why? “So many exciting things are happening with nursing in Indiana!

I’ve held many positions throughout my career, and I must say that this one is by far my favorite. The nursing community throughout this state is playing an active part in creating a collective vision for the future of nursing. I’m honored to play a leadership role in such a dynamic and growing organization and can’t wait to see what 2013 brings.” ■

Indiana Nursing Quarterly

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indystar.com/nursing

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Fall 2012

23

Join our mission.

Work alongside the greatest healer of all time The people, the faith-based ministry, professionalism and compassionate care are what make St. Francis Health a great place to have a rewarding career in health care.

We are currently seeking candidates for the following positions:

Patient Care Manager: Family Medicine BSN from an accredited school of nursing & valid Indiana RN license are required. Previous clinic experience preferred with procedural & teaching skills. Management experience with minimum 3–5 years Family Practice clinical experience is needed.

Unit Manager: Emergency Services The qualified candidate must possess a BSN from an accredited school of nursing and valid IN licensure. MSN is preferred. Previous management experience required.

We have exciting opportunities at our 3 locations for Registered Nurses in the following areas:

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We also have opportunities available for Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse Practitioners.

Please visit our website at

www.franciscanalliance.org/careers

for a list of additional opportunities and to apply.

St. Francis Health is part of Franciscan Alliance.

Equal Opportunity Employer