- Email: [email protected]
Cheri Clancy, MSN, MS, RN, NE-BC
Leader to Watch Cheri Clancy, MSN, MS, RN, NE-BC Joan Shinkus Clark, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, FACHE, FAAN
C
heri Clancy, MSN, MS, RN, NE-BC, is assistant vice president for Patient Experience at New Jerseybased Kennedy Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system providing a full continuum of health-
care services, ranging from acute-care hospitals to outpatient and wellness programs. Kennedy Health has 3 campuses in southern New Jersey: Cherry Hill, Stratford, and Washington Township. Its mission is to enhance the health status of the communities it serves, and the system has an educational commitment as the Principal Teach Affiliate of Rowan University-School of Osteopathic Medicine. Kennedy provides the largest nonpublic physician training program in the state of New Jersey. The system is licensed for 607 beds, employs more than 4000 associates, and provides privileges for over 900 physicians. Ms. Clancy was hired in February 2014 to engage staff and physicians in activities and changes to improve the patient experience. She is an author, educator, and national leadership speaker and has been a member of AONE since 2011, where she volunteers on the AONE Editorial Committee.
www.nurseleader.com
Nurse Leader
15
JSC: What attracted you to nursing, and what were your early experiences in the field? CC: I’ve always been interested in health and wellness. My mother worked for many years in the health field as a medical assistant, and encouraged me by modeling unconditional acceptance and caring for others. I learned from this and translated it into a career in nursing. I started my clinical career in the special care nursery unit; I loved helping compromised infants grow and develop. I knew almost from the beginning that I wanted to pursue a leadership role and took a circuitous pathway as the “epitome of a nontraditional nurse.” I worked as a recruiter and an educator in a university setting, then as director of nursing for pediatric ambulatory practices, and now, am the leading efforts toward improving the patient experience at Kennedy. I guess I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of leading teams and connecting with people—that has been the thread that has lead me to what I am doing today. JSC: What prepared you to become a nurse leader?
16
Nurse Leader
CC: Mainly through formal and infor-
CC: I think one of the major challenges is
mal leadership education, as well as some risk-taking. Didactic theory in leadership built the foundation, and the application of leading others helped solidify the concept. In other words, we can read all we want about politics, power, and conflict in the workplace, but not until you are positioned to deal with certain situations, can you then understand the tie in of broader terms, such as organizational culture or mission and values. Another example is emotional intelligence. You have to learn to apply emotional intelligence to your work. You do this through recognizing that staff around you has “other lives,” and they are providing you constant clues to how they are doing, or how those lives are affecting their behavior. In other words, in the classroom, you learned how to understand the definitions of the concept. In the workplace, you apply the concept and learn how to adapt. JSC: What do you consider to be the major challenges for nurses in healthcare leadership positions today?
the turbulence in healthcare. For example, value-based purchasing, healthcare reform, and the IOM’s Future of Nursing report require a different focus, and a different set of “lenses” to see the future. We need to be more proactive than reactive, yet we also need to never lose focus on patient safety, clinical quality, and associate engagement. Some nurse leaders are fearful because they know their educational requirements are changing to be maximally qualified to deal with topics such as generational influences, staff accountability to do hourly rounding, the laws and regulations that govern how nurses practice, or the myriad of other influences that affect the work environment every day.Yet some don’t take advantage of the opportunity to further their education until a goal is set by senior nursing leadership that marks a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) or master’s degree a minimum requirement to remain in their job.The IOM report on the Future of Nursing has provided a blueprint for preparing for these changes and nurse leaders need to be proactive in preparing themselves and their organizations for the future.
June 2015
JSC: The American Hospital Association has stated that the present healthcare environment poses a number of barriers to effective communication, including shorter hospital stays, more technologically complex medical care, and constrained resources. What have you learned about communication in general that applies to the barriers stated above? CC: It is challenging to be an effective communicator when the healthcare environment demands fast, objective, and taskoriented outcomes that are documented primarily on a computer. The amount of time with patients has also dropped dramatically, and nurses and other caregivers can’t establish the same type of relationships that used to occur over a couple of shifts or encounters. In fact, patients are more likely to see a new face every shift, making it even more difficult to effectively communicate. That’s why it is so important that caregivers focus on the quality of the interaction versus the quantity. This requires “being present” during interactions and making every conversation meaningful to the patient and their loved ones. My passion is helping caregivers to understand how they can accomplish this connection and offering them help in sustaining that through all types of situations. JSC: You are an AVP for Patient Experience; does that require a different set of skills and competencies than a traditional nurse leaders’ role? CC: I don’t think so. I work very closely with the CNOs at each Kennedy hospital to support system or campus initiatives and provide suggestions on how we can sustain things that work well, or where we can make improvements. My nursing background is used every day in this role. I draw from the lessons learned as a direct care nurse, an educator, a recruiter, and a nurse leader and apply them to the situations I am faced with daily. I don’t think there is a different set of skills or competencies, but rather a different focus and strategy to improve the patient experience. JSC: What has been the biggest challenge for you in the AVP for Patient Experience role? CC: The biggest challenge in this new role has been defining the responsibilities, which are still evolving. The patient experience includes so many different and “moving parts.” For example, the patient’s experience is not limited to their time in the hospital bed; it can include any experience from when they call their doctor, drive to the emergency department, find parking, wait to be seen, or encounter the first person they see entering the building. These experiences, along with many others, affect the patient’s perception—which is their reality. Perceptions are challenging, yet critically important. JSC: What contribution to nursing are you most proud of? CC: I don’t know that I can point to any one contribution, as I have had a variety of experiences and opportunities to contribute. The ability to provide comfort and care to those who are most vulnerable provides me the greatest source of pride. When a patient is able to thank you for providing something special and meaningful, it makes everything else seem less important. Beyond the clinical contribution, I am proud of the work I do in teaching and writing about leader-
www.nurseleader.com
ship and more recently, in having the privilege of publishing a book about my learnings in regards to the patient experience. JSC: You published a book through Sigma Theta Tau called Critical Conversations in Healthcare: Scripts & Techniques for Effective Interprofessional & Patient Communication. What is a key outcome of this work? CC: A key outcome of this book would include the awareness of the critical role that emotional intelligence and body language play in nursing. I think nurses have good “gut” instincts, yet don’t always act on it.This book helps us understand why we need to pay attention to our gut instincts.The book also reminds us to appreciate nonverbal cues, as well as verbal cues, in order to form better patient and interprofessional relationships. It was published in June 2014, and already there has been some interest in the book for coursework in nursing and medical student curriculums, and it sold out at the last National Press Ganey conference. I am excited by its initial success. JSC: How did you come to publish this book? CC: While attending the 2014 AONE conference, I was networking with others in the exhibit hall. I struck up a conversation with an individual who I later learned was director of Nursing Knowledge International (NKI), a subsidiary of Sigma Theta Tau, the Honor Society of Nursing. We spoke about the importance of nonverbal communication. I shared some of my thoughts about what I’ve learned about communicating with patients and staff in my work, and she remarked that I should write a book about this! I initially thought she was making a coaching suggestion, but quickly learned that she was affiliated with Sigma Theta Tau. She commented that her staff would follow-up with me and shortly they did. When they contacted me, they set an ambitious deadline, and
Nurse Leader
17
Hometown: Sicklerville, New Jersey Education: BSN from Thomas Jefferson University, MS in Health Administration and Wellness Promotion from California College for Health Services, MSN in Organizational Leadership from American Sentinel University, Birmingham. I have also completed a leadership program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, and the Leadership Development Institute with the Studer Group. Most people don’t know that: I plan to invent something and hope to impress The Sharks on the reality TV show “Shark Tank.” One thing I want to experience in life: To watch all my children’s dreams come true. One word to summarize me: Compassionate.
less than 1 year later, the book was ready for publication! I am still a little bit amazed that it came together so quickly! JSC: What piece of wisdom can you share about implementing change? CC: A piece of wisdom would be to ensure that the reason for change is well-communicated so that it has buy-in from both horizontal and vertical organizational structures. Even small changes can make big differences. JSC: Relationships are so critical to your role. Can you identify 1 relationship in your current role that has been critical to your success? CC: I would be remiss to limit to only 1 relationship that is critical to my success.The patient’s experience cannot improve with just 1 department, service line, or person. It truly takes an entire organization to improve the patient’s experience; every relationship is critical. I have seen great success in engagement with physicians at a couple of levels. I work with a great group of physician leaders on a physician engagement task force.Through the education and discussions, physician leaders are taking back their learnings to roll-out among their departments or specialty. I also had the privilege in 2014 of helping launch Kennedy’s Hospitalist Ambassador Program, which enables hospitalists to come in on a non-call day to round on all patients and engage them in hearing about their experience. During the launch of this program, doctor communication scores really improved. Since the hospitalist rounded on other physicians’ patients as well, this gave them a broader perspective of the importance of communication with patients about more than just their clinical condition or the treatment plan.We are planning to repeat this program again this year, and have submitted our experience as an abstract for presentation to others. JSC: What advice do you have for nurse leaders in how to collaborate with interprofessional groups and stakeholders in improving the overall patient experience? CC: My advice is to listen first, and then ask questions that are derived from a place of curiosity, not certainty. This is important when you authentically want to know how others feel about issues. Once you know what is important, then you can look for ways to engage groups in positive ways, always keeping the focus on the patient. JSC: What advice do you have for current and aspiring nurse leaders? CC: My advice would be to find your passion, speak and write about it—and support and inspire the passion of others. My advice also stems from the late Maya Angelou who once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” NL Joan Shinkus Clark, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, FACHE, FAAN is the SVP and system chief nurse executive at Texas Health Resources, in Arlington, Texas. She can be reached at [email protected]. 1541-4612/2014/ $ See front matter Copyright 2015 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2015.03.001
18
Nurse Leader
June 2015
C
heri Clancy, MSN, MS, RN, NE-BC, is assistant vice president for Patient Experience at New Jerseybased Kennedy Health, an integrated healthcare delivery system providing a full continuum of health-
care services, ranging from acute-care hospitals to outpatient and wellness programs. Kennedy Health has 3 campuses in southern New Jersey: Cherry Hill, Stratford, and Washington Township. Its mission is to enhance the health status of the communities it serves, and the system has an educational commitment as the Principal Teach Affiliate of Rowan University-School of Osteopathic Medicine. Kennedy provides the largest nonpublic physician training program in the state of New Jersey. The system is licensed for 607 beds, employs more than 4000 associates, and provides privileges for over 900 physicians. Ms. Clancy was hired in February 2014 to engage staff and physicians in activities and changes to improve the patient experience. She is an author, educator, and national leadership speaker and has been a member of AONE since 2011, where she volunteers on the AONE Editorial Committee.
www.nurseleader.com
Nurse Leader
15
JSC: What attracted you to nursing, and what were your early experiences in the field? CC: I’ve always been interested in health and wellness. My mother worked for many years in the health field as a medical assistant, and encouraged me by modeling unconditional acceptance and caring for others. I learned from this and translated it into a career in nursing. I started my clinical career in the special care nursery unit; I loved helping compromised infants grow and develop. I knew almost from the beginning that I wanted to pursue a leadership role and took a circuitous pathway as the “epitome of a nontraditional nurse.” I worked as a recruiter and an educator in a university setting, then as director of nursing for pediatric ambulatory practices, and now, am the leading efforts toward improving the patient experience at Kennedy. I guess I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of leading teams and connecting with people—that has been the thread that has lead me to what I am doing today. JSC: What prepared you to become a nurse leader?
16
Nurse Leader
CC: Mainly through formal and infor-
CC: I think one of the major challenges is
mal leadership education, as well as some risk-taking. Didactic theory in leadership built the foundation, and the application of leading others helped solidify the concept. In other words, we can read all we want about politics, power, and conflict in the workplace, but not until you are positioned to deal with certain situations, can you then understand the tie in of broader terms, such as organizational culture or mission and values. Another example is emotional intelligence. You have to learn to apply emotional intelligence to your work. You do this through recognizing that staff around you has “other lives,” and they are providing you constant clues to how they are doing, or how those lives are affecting their behavior. In other words, in the classroom, you learned how to understand the definitions of the concept. In the workplace, you apply the concept and learn how to adapt. JSC: What do you consider to be the major challenges for nurses in healthcare leadership positions today?
the turbulence in healthcare. For example, value-based purchasing, healthcare reform, and the IOM’s Future of Nursing report require a different focus, and a different set of “lenses” to see the future. We need to be more proactive than reactive, yet we also need to never lose focus on patient safety, clinical quality, and associate engagement. Some nurse leaders are fearful because they know their educational requirements are changing to be maximally qualified to deal with topics such as generational influences, staff accountability to do hourly rounding, the laws and regulations that govern how nurses practice, or the myriad of other influences that affect the work environment every day.Yet some don’t take advantage of the opportunity to further their education until a goal is set by senior nursing leadership that marks a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) or master’s degree a minimum requirement to remain in their job.The IOM report on the Future of Nursing has provided a blueprint for preparing for these changes and nurse leaders need to be proactive in preparing themselves and their organizations for the future.
June 2015
JSC: The American Hospital Association has stated that the present healthcare environment poses a number of barriers to effective communication, including shorter hospital stays, more technologically complex medical care, and constrained resources. What have you learned about communication in general that applies to the barriers stated above? CC: It is challenging to be an effective communicator when the healthcare environment demands fast, objective, and taskoriented outcomes that are documented primarily on a computer. The amount of time with patients has also dropped dramatically, and nurses and other caregivers can’t establish the same type of relationships that used to occur over a couple of shifts or encounters. In fact, patients are more likely to see a new face every shift, making it even more difficult to effectively communicate. That’s why it is so important that caregivers focus on the quality of the interaction versus the quantity. This requires “being present” during interactions and making every conversation meaningful to the patient and their loved ones. My passion is helping caregivers to understand how they can accomplish this connection and offering them help in sustaining that through all types of situations. JSC: You are an AVP for Patient Experience; does that require a different set of skills and competencies than a traditional nurse leaders’ role? CC: I don’t think so. I work very closely with the CNOs at each Kennedy hospital to support system or campus initiatives and provide suggestions on how we can sustain things that work well, or where we can make improvements. My nursing background is used every day in this role. I draw from the lessons learned as a direct care nurse, an educator, a recruiter, and a nurse leader and apply them to the situations I am faced with daily. I don’t think there is a different set of skills or competencies, but rather a different focus and strategy to improve the patient experience. JSC: What has been the biggest challenge for you in the AVP for Patient Experience role? CC: The biggest challenge in this new role has been defining the responsibilities, which are still evolving. The patient experience includes so many different and “moving parts.” For example, the patient’s experience is not limited to their time in the hospital bed; it can include any experience from when they call their doctor, drive to the emergency department, find parking, wait to be seen, or encounter the first person they see entering the building. These experiences, along with many others, affect the patient’s perception—which is their reality. Perceptions are challenging, yet critically important. JSC: What contribution to nursing are you most proud of? CC: I don’t know that I can point to any one contribution, as I have had a variety of experiences and opportunities to contribute. The ability to provide comfort and care to those who are most vulnerable provides me the greatest source of pride. When a patient is able to thank you for providing something special and meaningful, it makes everything else seem less important. Beyond the clinical contribution, I am proud of the work I do in teaching and writing about leader-
www.nurseleader.com
ship and more recently, in having the privilege of publishing a book about my learnings in regards to the patient experience. JSC: You published a book through Sigma Theta Tau called Critical Conversations in Healthcare: Scripts & Techniques for Effective Interprofessional & Patient Communication. What is a key outcome of this work? CC: A key outcome of this book would include the awareness of the critical role that emotional intelligence and body language play in nursing. I think nurses have good “gut” instincts, yet don’t always act on it.This book helps us understand why we need to pay attention to our gut instincts.The book also reminds us to appreciate nonverbal cues, as well as verbal cues, in order to form better patient and interprofessional relationships. It was published in June 2014, and already there has been some interest in the book for coursework in nursing and medical student curriculums, and it sold out at the last National Press Ganey conference. I am excited by its initial success. JSC: How did you come to publish this book? CC: While attending the 2014 AONE conference, I was networking with others in the exhibit hall. I struck up a conversation with an individual who I later learned was director of Nursing Knowledge International (NKI), a subsidiary of Sigma Theta Tau, the Honor Society of Nursing. We spoke about the importance of nonverbal communication. I shared some of my thoughts about what I’ve learned about communicating with patients and staff in my work, and she remarked that I should write a book about this! I initially thought she was making a coaching suggestion, but quickly learned that she was affiliated with Sigma Theta Tau. She commented that her staff would follow-up with me and shortly they did. When they contacted me, they set an ambitious deadline, and
Nurse Leader
17
Hometown: Sicklerville, New Jersey Education: BSN from Thomas Jefferson University, MS in Health Administration and Wellness Promotion from California College for Health Services, MSN in Organizational Leadership from American Sentinel University, Birmingham. I have also completed a leadership program at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, and the Leadership Development Institute with the Studer Group. Most people don’t know that: I plan to invent something and hope to impress The Sharks on the reality TV show “Shark Tank.” One thing I want to experience in life: To watch all my children’s dreams come true. One word to summarize me: Compassionate.
less than 1 year later, the book was ready for publication! I am still a little bit amazed that it came together so quickly! JSC: What piece of wisdom can you share about implementing change? CC: A piece of wisdom would be to ensure that the reason for change is well-communicated so that it has buy-in from both horizontal and vertical organizational structures. Even small changes can make big differences. JSC: Relationships are so critical to your role. Can you identify 1 relationship in your current role that has been critical to your success? CC: I would be remiss to limit to only 1 relationship that is critical to my success.The patient’s experience cannot improve with just 1 department, service line, or person. It truly takes an entire organization to improve the patient’s experience; every relationship is critical. I have seen great success in engagement with physicians at a couple of levels. I work with a great group of physician leaders on a physician engagement task force.Through the education and discussions, physician leaders are taking back their learnings to roll-out among their departments or specialty. I also had the privilege in 2014 of helping launch Kennedy’s Hospitalist Ambassador Program, which enables hospitalists to come in on a non-call day to round on all patients and engage them in hearing about their experience. During the launch of this program, doctor communication scores really improved. Since the hospitalist rounded on other physicians’ patients as well, this gave them a broader perspective of the importance of communication with patients about more than just their clinical condition or the treatment plan.We are planning to repeat this program again this year, and have submitted our experience as an abstract for presentation to others. JSC: What advice do you have for nurse leaders in how to collaborate with interprofessional groups and stakeholders in improving the overall patient experience? CC: My advice is to listen first, and then ask questions that are derived from a place of curiosity, not certainty. This is important when you authentically want to know how others feel about issues. Once you know what is important, then you can look for ways to engage groups in positive ways, always keeping the focus on the patient. JSC: What advice do you have for current and aspiring nurse leaders? CC: My advice would be to find your passion, speak and write about it—and support and inspire the passion of others. My advice also stems from the late Maya Angelou who once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” NL Joan Shinkus Clark, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, FACHE, FAAN is the SVP and system chief nurse executive at Texas Health Resources, in Arlington, Texas. She can be reached at [email protected]. 1541-4612/2014/ $ See front matter Copyright 2015 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2015.03.001
18
Nurse Leader
June 2015