Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1111624
Working Nurse l WorkingNurse.com 23 April 29–June 10, 2019 Celebrating National Nurses Week Linda Burnes Bolton RN, DrPH, FAAN VP for Nursing, CNO and Director of Nursing Research Cedars-Sinai I never intended to become a CNO. My first job while I was in nursing school was as a nurse's aide. I loved working with patients. My first staff nursing job was on a pediatric oncology unit, which is where I experienced my first patient death. As you might imagine, for a 21-year-old nurse, having a child die who was only 5 years old was quite dis- tressing. I decided then that I wanted to become an advanced practice nurse. ❖❖❖❖ ✲ The CNO walks between two worlds: direct patient care and executive leadership. Part of my job is directing, coaching and leading the care providers who are directly responsible for the welfare of our patients. In that role, I do rounds every day, speak with patients and staff and pro- vide nursing leadership. The other world is executive leadership. As CNO, I must make sure that I'm always at the table with the other executives in order to influence what resources we have and how they are allocated. We're always planning and looking forward — not just to the next few weeks or months, but to what might be on the horizon from a policy perspective. I work to make sure that we're creating policies that support the wonderful work we do of human caring. Quanna Batiste-Brown RN, DNP, HCSCM, FABC, NEA-BC Chief Nursing Officer, Ambulatory Care UCLA Health I was an LVN at a Louisiana hospital for eight years while I earned my BSN. I started my career as an RN at the same hospital, quite auspi- ciously: On my second day on the job, I was promoted to charge nurse. My peers already knew me well and had observed me at work, so they made a unanimous decision. Just six months after that, I was promoted to nursing manager. To be recognized as a leader so early in my career gave me the oppor- tunity to reflect on the career path I wanted to carve for myself and how I wanted to contribute to patient care. I've had many mentors who enabled me to grow into the type of leader I envisioned myself to be. ❖❖❖❖ ✲ As CNO of ambulatory care, I oversee the training and profes- sional development of more than 1,500 frontline healthcare practitioners in the areas of patient safety, care delivery, evidence- based protocols and patient relations. My overarching goal is to advocate for and promote patient safety in a standardized way throughout our outpatient clinic environment. I also spend a lot of time ensuring that the ambulatory nursing staff are prac- ticing to the full scope of their licenses. I must also stay abreast of state laws and new national guidelines, as there are constant changes. My favorite time of the day is the morning huddle. I have more than 20 direct reports in the ambulatory care nursing office, all outstanding professionals. I am there to help problem-solve, but also to support their efforts. I want to know what I can personally do to ensure they have a peaceful and productive day. How did you get to the C-Suite? What do you do all day? We asked our panelists. This is what they said. PORTRAIT OF A CNO