First Full-Time RN Job
Not long after starting the orthopedic job, the Day-Shift Nurse Clinician approached me about taking on the role of Evening-Shift Nurse Clinician. I said it sounded exciting. She asked me to apply formality but wanted me to begin training the following Monday.
God, in his infinite wisdom, placed me in the right place at the right time, allowing me to gain experience in wound and colostomy care, exposure to psychiatry, intensive care, emergency room, recovery room, chemical dependency, infection control, and employee health nursing, and additional training in complex care for medical and surgical nursing cases. I had the opportunity to learn things I would never have been able to see if working only one unit. As far back as my first job, I genuinely believe God was preparing me to care for Lynn in the years ahead, in addition to my other caregiving roles.
Since I worked the evening shift, the ancillary departments were either closed or minimally staffed. If a department or emergency admission needed their services, the evening shift supervisor or I helped them. Often, I was the one to help because the nursing supervisors had to remain free to problem-solve other issues.
As a result, I gained experience in materials management, assisting with therapeutic testing (helping hold patients), cooking in dietary, obtaining medications from the pharmacy, and delivering bodies to the morgue. The experience helped me better explain to patients about upcoming procedures or what they could expect if transferred to a new area for treatment or care.
Non-Nursing Jobs
As I became more familiar with non-nursing areas, more people asked for my help identifying possible solutions to problems in their work areas. I began coaching staff on conflict resolution and other problem-solving skills. Managers started asking my advice about how to handle staff conflicts. The CEO took notice. After the HR Director resigned, he asked if I would consider accepting the vacant HR position if the organization provided my training. I had contacts in several hospitals who shared details regarding the scope of HR responsibilities. I knew nothing about Human Resources (called “Personnel” then), but I knew human nature and liked a challenge, so I agreed. I became the Director of Human Resources, essentially the same as being a Vice President of Human Resources for a small hospital because I was part of the leadership team.
I realized at my first meeting consisting of the retirement insurance agent, the banker who managed all the stocks in the retirement fund portfolio, our Chief Financial Officer, and myself that maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew. They told me it was time for me to perform discrimination testing of our 401 (k) plan and explained how to do that. Everyone was very patient with me. I was allowed to buy any books I needed (no internet back then) and attend as many seminars as necessary to feel comfortable completing essential duties. In addition, I had fellow HR Managers who allowed me to pick their brains when I became stuck on a topic. It all worked out, and I felt comfortable in the role.
Left Leadership for a While, Stayed Around Healthcare, But in HR
Metropolitan Hospital began having a lot of leadership turnover in the late 1990s. I felt uncomfortable about the direction the company was moving and thought it might be a good time to try a new place of employment. Fortunately, the Virginia Commonwealth University Human Resources, which provided services to the Medical Campus, was hiring for an Employee Relations Analyst on their hospital team. I managed human resources for several years and dealt with all employee relations issues. My nursing background and human resources experience make me a perfect fit.
I joined VCU HR in 1991. In 1997, MCV Hospitals decided to become a state authority. An authority is no longer a state agency. It has a dotted line to the State in that the employees still fall under the State’s grievance and layoff policies. All other policies and benefits can be established independently of the State. The plan was for my coworker and me to remain VCU employees. However, four days before the day the transition took effect, we received notification that we were becoming Authority employees instead. I became an Authority employee and lost my state status. Fortunately, I kept my state health insurance and retirement plan under a grandfather clause, which was a plus.
My role during the transition to the Authority was to write all the new HR policies for the new organization. Our charge was to create something very similar to what VCU had but with enough flexibility to allow the hospital to move freely within the highly competitive medical marketplace. Employees were upset about leaving the State, and leadership did not want to make too many changes. The mandate was to keep change to a minimum and to make the transition run smoothly.
A new leadership team for Human Resources was created by creating a new organization. The Board hired a new Vice President of Human Resources. We had three people in Employee Relations at the time of the transition – a director at VCU and two ER analysts at MCV. The Director remained at VCU because they had fewer issues on that campus. The medical campus always had conflicts. Myself and my coworker had the medical campus. Her background was in social work, and mine was in nursing. I was the writer of the two of us, and she was the extrovert. With those traits, I became a team leader because I wrote the policies and needed training on them. My partner liked to meet and mingle, which fit better with being the person who greeted our drop-ins and made appointments. We kept those roles for several years.
Took on Leadership Role again
After assuming the Team Leader role, I took on more responsibility over time. Eventually, I had two team members reporting to me, which increased to four when I left the organization. My title also eventually changed from team leader to Director, as did my duties. At retirement, I was responsible for employee relations, HR policies, equal opportunity employment and affirmative action, workforce violence prevention, HR compliance with regulatory agency standards and joint commission, and conflict resolution.
By 2018, my doctor warned me that working full-time and as well as caring for Lynn was going to be the death of me. I had several medical problems by then, and the work stress was piling up due to significant changes in the organization’s philosophy and the way they wanted to deal with employees. I disagreed with the company’s direction and knew it was not a good fit for me. I liked a hands-on, compassionate leadership style and felt you would grow loyal if you treated people fairly. Furthermore, I believe that if you give people what they need to be successful and help them learn from their mistakes, the loyalty that develops makes your company stronger.
The new leadership did not foster that style of management. The trend was moving towards a hands-off approach, referring employees to help-yourself articles and less human interaction. I believe companies that take such an approach lose connection with their staff, resulting in a loss of loyalty. When loyalty goes, so does good customer service, teamwork, and quality care. It was a good time for me to leave. At the time of my retirement, I worked at VCU/MCV for 28 years. I worked for Metropolitan Hospital for 13 years.
