- Email: [email protected]
Elizabeth Nelkin McCormick, MSN, RN
Leader To Watch
Elizabeth Nelkin McCormick, MSN, RN Maria W. O’Rourke, RN, DNSc, FAAN, CHC
D
iligent, industrious, attentive, tireless, and hard-
working characterize this dynamic and results-
oriented nurse leader. Her interesting history, personal philosophy, and career path are reflected in her journey, one that is full of accomplishments that have advanced nursing as a profession through demonstrated leadership and shaped by her personal passion for sailing. Her ability to achieve balance in her life is a testimony to the depth and breadth of her leadership. Her ability to gain insight from her experiences and learn from them serves as a constant source of renewal and energy as she leads her team toward providing the best care to patients. She is focused and determined,
which means we will be hearing much more about her in the future. She is truly a leader to watch and to emulate as a role model. Liz, thank you for the opportunity to interview you and showcase your contributions as a healthcare leader.
MOR: What was it like for you growing up female? LM: I consider myself extremely blessed to be an American and to have grown up in an emerging culture in which there is far more equality, tolerance, and individual opportunity than that experienced by women in other parts of the world. I am the eldest of two children and perceive that I have had equal support and opportunity to obtain a sound education and to be successful in my career as my brother did. My parents instilled in me the belief that personal achievement was the result of honest, hard work and ambition.They encouraged self-reliance and inspired me to aim high. I think the only major dis-
10
Nurse Leader
tinction I encountered due to my gender was the personal deferral and eventual trade-off between having children and advancing my professional career. However, this decision, too, was mine. MOR: How did that experience influence your career choices? LM: My gender did not significantly influence my decision to become a nurse. From an early age, my parents encouraged me to consider professional careers associated with a high probability of continued employment and respectability. Although I grew up during a period in which there were perceived fewer career opportunities for women, I never felt that my choices were restricted. As a
baby boomer, I grew up in a period of our American history influenced by an altruistic desire to foster equal rights and peaceful humanitarian efforts. MOR: Of the choices you had, why did you choose nursing as a career? LM: I was extremely talented in mathematics, particularly algebra and geometry, and was drawn to the creative expression of drawing and painting. I therefore briefly considered a career as an architect. But I excelled in science and was most fascinated by biology. In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to forego advanced placement courses to participate in a collaborative work/study program at a local state mental institu-
October 2009
tion. While enrolled in the program, I worked as a nurse aide and observed firsthand the powerful influence nurses had on unit operations, culture, care delivery, and patient outcomes. Driven by an idealistic desire to improve the healthcare conditions that I personally observed, I was drawn to the nursing profession. I had also experienced the death of my closest friend in an automobile accident, and this further inspired me to pursue a career of caring.The practice of nursing represented the ideal applied science and furthered my evolving social mission to positively influence the lives of others. MOR: How would you describe the journey you have taken to reach your current position of chief nursing officer (CNO)? LM: Being a woman in a femaledominated profession made it more challenging for me to distinguish myself among my colleagues. In hindsight, my career was influenced by fate as much as it was by ambition. I did not have a prescribed road map, purposefully seeking out experiences that would provide me
www.nurseleader.com
with the requisite knowledge and skill to advance to the next level of my career. Rather, my approach was fundamentally more opportunistic; my desire to learn and experience new challenges, coupled with sound intuition, guided me in selecting and pursuing growth opportunities as they fortuitously presented themselves. I must also credit positive, as well as negative, role models that inspired me.The individual that I most credit as having had the most profound impact on my career was a physician who most challenged me to reflect on unrealized prospects within my profession at a time when I was considering becoming a physician. MOR: How would you describe yourself as a leader? LM: I have come to realize that leadership is less about one’s own ego and accomplishments, but rather the ability to influence and motivate others to achieve goals that realize a greater vision, a vision that is largely influenced by an effective leader. Therefore, as a leader, I rely on my intuition and analytic abilities to envision a future of improved access to health services and improved health outcomes, a future
that optimizes the important contribution of nurses. I often describe my role as “cheerleader,” continuously striving to keep the team’s focus on the goal while maintaining team morale, learning effective strategies, and most important, acknowledging and celebrating individual contribution and collective success. At this stage of my career, I have begun to focus more of my effort on succession planning. MOR: What has contributed to your success as a leader? LM: I have practiced for over 30 years and see myself as an experienced and accomplished leader. My current knowledge, wisdom, and self-assuredness developed over a lifetime and continue to expand and be influenced by personal choices in response to opportunities, challenges, and countless human interactions and relationships. Nursing has significantly shaped my identity and provided me with a passionate mission. My hope is that my professional experiences may provide guidance to others. I know of no universal formula for success. Rather, I offer my personal testament to a rewarding career that con-
Nurse Leader
11
Elizabeth Nelkin McCormick, MSN, RN Hometown
Manhattan, New York Current job
Chief Nursing Officer and Chairman, Department of Nursing, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Education
BSN and MSN, State University of New York, Stony Brook First job in nursing
Staff nurse, acute inpatient medicine Being in a leadership position gives me the opportunity to
Largely shape the current and future healthcare delivery system to positively impact public health and to create and sustain work environments in which nurses maximally contribute and are maximally effective Most people don’t know that I
Dream to go “blue-water” sailing My best advice to aspiring leaders
Aim high and be true to yourself One thing I want to learn
How to repair a diesel engine One word to summarize me
Assiduous
12
Nurse Leader
tinues to inspire me. I share my caring philosophy and strong work ethic. I represent what may be accomplished through perseverance and dedication. MOR: How did you arrive at the decision to become a CNO? LM: Essential to the work of nursing is a genuine interest in people and the desire to maximize their health and quality of life. As a nurse administrator, my primary focus is less about my own clinical practice and rather a desire to create and sustain a healthcare environment in which nurses have the prerequisite authority and accountability to practice professionally, as well as the resources, knowledge, and skill to be optimally effective in the delivery of patient care. This transition in focus came gradually to me. I obtained an advanced clinical degree early in my career, after which I assumed increasing leadership responsibilities developing, implementing, and overseeing clinical programs. I initially struggled with this shift toward an increasingly administrative role; however, I now enjoy the large influence I have on shaping clinical environments—determining care delivery models, ensuring that practice standards are evidence-based and achieve optimal patient outcomes, and fostering high levels of patient and nurse satisfaction. MOR: As a CNO, how do you incorporate lifelong learning into your executive practice? LM: I believe that learning is a life-long endeavor. A primary responsibility as chief nursing officer is to challenge the status quo, foster continuous learning, and stimulate professional development. Throughout my career, I have been a positive role model and change agent. I have held firm to my convictions while admitting and growing from my mistakes. I am seldom afraid to ask a question, voice an opinion, or think out loud. In my current position, I am challenged to maintain Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s national leadership in oncology nursing practice during the current unprecedented period of transformation in cancer care. Scientific breakthroughs are contributing to our evolving understanding of cancer at the molecular level.This requires nurses to remain current with emerging technologies. Nurses must integrate new knowledge into every aspect of their practice: prevention, risk-determination, detection, treatment, symptom management, and end-of-life care.This challenge is balanced by the need to be fiscally responsible during our troubled economy, and resourceful and creative in response to serious nursing workforce shortages and anticipated healthcare reform MOR: How has your passion for sailing influenced your life’s work? LM: My passion for sailing has influenced my overall philosophy on life, including my work. Sailing requires tremendous team effort. Crewmembers assume differentiated roles based on their knowledge, skill, physical conditioning, and interests.When we set sail, we plot a course based on our desired destination, time schedule, and assessment of prevailing conditions: weather, wind, tides, and current.We are responsive to subtle or abrupt changes that necessitate critical thinking, decision-making, and flexibility to alter plans.We network with other sailors and learn from them effective techniques and strategies.We appreciate the natural beauty around us, are awed by the forces against which we are powerless, have developed respect for what we fear, and admiration for each other when we achieve personal victories.
October 2009
enjoy the voyage, and we will celebrate our landfall. MOR: If you had the chance to do it all again, what would you do differently? LM: I honestly would do very little different. I would, however, seek to participate more in professional activities outside my place of employment and devote greater effort to more broadly influence and disseminate my experiential knowledge through publishing and speaking. MOR: What is your vision for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself in that picture? LM: Two areas of personal interest have recently emerged. Nursing needs to advance the science of our discipline by encouraging and supporting our research efforts beyond current levels.We need to encourage the pursuit of doctoral degrees at an earlier age and find sustainable ways to fund postdoctoral work.Toward that end, I have worked to strengthen the evidence-based practice and research agenda within the nursing department at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and have procured philanthropic support for our research fellowship program. I have also come to appreciate the importance of political activism. I believe that nurses must play a greater role in shaping healthcare reform. In order to do so, nurses must overcome the pervasive and persistent nursing stereotypes and capitalize on the large degree of public trust we hold.We must collaborate more to achieve common public health goals.This will require us to overcome the special interests of our numerous subspecialty groups that currently fragment our efforts. I have recently gone to my state’s capitol to lobby on important nursing issues. NL Resiliency and learning are central parts of life onboard. Sailing is both hard work and fun, calming and invigorating, humbling and confidence-building. My sentiment about sailing as a metaphor for life is eloquently expressed in a quote from Mark Twain’s autobiography, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. www.nurseleader.com
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Memorial Hospital’s talented nursing department is making preparations to launch its Magnet Journey. As captain, I have uttermost confidence in the talented, courageous crew and seaworthy vessel. I anticipate smooth sailing, as well as challenges and growth opportunities.We will
Maria W. O’Rourke, RN, DNSc, FAAN, CHC, is the president and CEO of Maria W. O’Rourke, Inc., in Larkspur, CA. She can be reached at [email protected]. Photography by Rick Dewitt © 2009 1541-4612/2009/ $ See front matter Copyright 2009 by Mosby Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mnl.2009.07.007
Nurse Leader
13
Elizabeth Nelkin McCormick, MSN, RN Maria W. O’Rourke, RN, DNSc, FAAN, CHC
D
iligent, industrious, attentive, tireless, and hard-
working characterize this dynamic and results-
oriented nurse leader. Her interesting history, personal philosophy, and career path are reflected in her journey, one that is full of accomplishments that have advanced nursing as a profession through demonstrated leadership and shaped by her personal passion for sailing. Her ability to achieve balance in her life is a testimony to the depth and breadth of her leadership. Her ability to gain insight from her experiences and learn from them serves as a constant source of renewal and energy as she leads her team toward providing the best care to patients. She is focused and determined,
which means we will be hearing much more about her in the future. She is truly a leader to watch and to emulate as a role model. Liz, thank you for the opportunity to interview you and showcase your contributions as a healthcare leader.
MOR: What was it like for you growing up female? LM: I consider myself extremely blessed to be an American and to have grown up in an emerging culture in which there is far more equality, tolerance, and individual opportunity than that experienced by women in other parts of the world. I am the eldest of two children and perceive that I have had equal support and opportunity to obtain a sound education and to be successful in my career as my brother did. My parents instilled in me the belief that personal achievement was the result of honest, hard work and ambition.They encouraged self-reliance and inspired me to aim high. I think the only major dis-
10
Nurse Leader
tinction I encountered due to my gender was the personal deferral and eventual trade-off between having children and advancing my professional career. However, this decision, too, was mine. MOR: How did that experience influence your career choices? LM: My gender did not significantly influence my decision to become a nurse. From an early age, my parents encouraged me to consider professional careers associated with a high probability of continued employment and respectability. Although I grew up during a period in which there were perceived fewer career opportunities for women, I never felt that my choices were restricted. As a
baby boomer, I grew up in a period of our American history influenced by an altruistic desire to foster equal rights and peaceful humanitarian efforts. MOR: Of the choices you had, why did you choose nursing as a career? LM: I was extremely talented in mathematics, particularly algebra and geometry, and was drawn to the creative expression of drawing and painting. I therefore briefly considered a career as an architect. But I excelled in science and was most fascinated by biology. In my senior year of high school, I had the opportunity to forego advanced placement courses to participate in a collaborative work/study program at a local state mental institu-
October 2009
tion. While enrolled in the program, I worked as a nurse aide and observed firsthand the powerful influence nurses had on unit operations, culture, care delivery, and patient outcomes. Driven by an idealistic desire to improve the healthcare conditions that I personally observed, I was drawn to the nursing profession. I had also experienced the death of my closest friend in an automobile accident, and this further inspired me to pursue a career of caring.The practice of nursing represented the ideal applied science and furthered my evolving social mission to positively influence the lives of others. MOR: How would you describe the journey you have taken to reach your current position of chief nursing officer (CNO)? LM: Being a woman in a femaledominated profession made it more challenging for me to distinguish myself among my colleagues. In hindsight, my career was influenced by fate as much as it was by ambition. I did not have a prescribed road map, purposefully seeking out experiences that would provide me
www.nurseleader.com
with the requisite knowledge and skill to advance to the next level of my career. Rather, my approach was fundamentally more opportunistic; my desire to learn and experience new challenges, coupled with sound intuition, guided me in selecting and pursuing growth opportunities as they fortuitously presented themselves. I must also credit positive, as well as negative, role models that inspired me.The individual that I most credit as having had the most profound impact on my career was a physician who most challenged me to reflect on unrealized prospects within my profession at a time when I was considering becoming a physician. MOR: How would you describe yourself as a leader? LM: I have come to realize that leadership is less about one’s own ego and accomplishments, but rather the ability to influence and motivate others to achieve goals that realize a greater vision, a vision that is largely influenced by an effective leader. Therefore, as a leader, I rely on my intuition and analytic abilities to envision a future of improved access to health services and improved health outcomes, a future
that optimizes the important contribution of nurses. I often describe my role as “cheerleader,” continuously striving to keep the team’s focus on the goal while maintaining team morale, learning effective strategies, and most important, acknowledging and celebrating individual contribution and collective success. At this stage of my career, I have begun to focus more of my effort on succession planning. MOR: What has contributed to your success as a leader? LM: I have practiced for over 30 years and see myself as an experienced and accomplished leader. My current knowledge, wisdom, and self-assuredness developed over a lifetime and continue to expand and be influenced by personal choices in response to opportunities, challenges, and countless human interactions and relationships. Nursing has significantly shaped my identity and provided me with a passionate mission. My hope is that my professional experiences may provide guidance to others. I know of no universal formula for success. Rather, I offer my personal testament to a rewarding career that con-
Nurse Leader
11
Elizabeth Nelkin McCormick, MSN, RN Hometown
Manhattan, New York Current job
Chief Nursing Officer and Chairman, Department of Nursing, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Education
BSN and MSN, State University of New York, Stony Brook First job in nursing
Staff nurse, acute inpatient medicine Being in a leadership position gives me the opportunity to
Largely shape the current and future healthcare delivery system to positively impact public health and to create and sustain work environments in which nurses maximally contribute and are maximally effective Most people don’t know that I
Dream to go “blue-water” sailing My best advice to aspiring leaders
Aim high and be true to yourself One thing I want to learn
How to repair a diesel engine One word to summarize me
Assiduous
12
Nurse Leader
tinues to inspire me. I share my caring philosophy and strong work ethic. I represent what may be accomplished through perseverance and dedication. MOR: How did you arrive at the decision to become a CNO? LM: Essential to the work of nursing is a genuine interest in people and the desire to maximize their health and quality of life. As a nurse administrator, my primary focus is less about my own clinical practice and rather a desire to create and sustain a healthcare environment in which nurses have the prerequisite authority and accountability to practice professionally, as well as the resources, knowledge, and skill to be optimally effective in the delivery of patient care. This transition in focus came gradually to me. I obtained an advanced clinical degree early in my career, after which I assumed increasing leadership responsibilities developing, implementing, and overseeing clinical programs. I initially struggled with this shift toward an increasingly administrative role; however, I now enjoy the large influence I have on shaping clinical environments—determining care delivery models, ensuring that practice standards are evidence-based and achieve optimal patient outcomes, and fostering high levels of patient and nurse satisfaction. MOR: As a CNO, how do you incorporate lifelong learning into your executive practice? LM: I believe that learning is a life-long endeavor. A primary responsibility as chief nursing officer is to challenge the status quo, foster continuous learning, and stimulate professional development. Throughout my career, I have been a positive role model and change agent. I have held firm to my convictions while admitting and growing from my mistakes. I am seldom afraid to ask a question, voice an opinion, or think out loud. In my current position, I am challenged to maintain Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s national leadership in oncology nursing practice during the current unprecedented period of transformation in cancer care. Scientific breakthroughs are contributing to our evolving understanding of cancer at the molecular level.This requires nurses to remain current with emerging technologies. Nurses must integrate new knowledge into every aspect of their practice: prevention, risk-determination, detection, treatment, symptom management, and end-of-life care.This challenge is balanced by the need to be fiscally responsible during our troubled economy, and resourceful and creative in response to serious nursing workforce shortages and anticipated healthcare reform MOR: How has your passion for sailing influenced your life’s work? LM: My passion for sailing has influenced my overall philosophy on life, including my work. Sailing requires tremendous team effort. Crewmembers assume differentiated roles based on their knowledge, skill, physical conditioning, and interests.When we set sail, we plot a course based on our desired destination, time schedule, and assessment of prevailing conditions: weather, wind, tides, and current.We are responsive to subtle or abrupt changes that necessitate critical thinking, decision-making, and flexibility to alter plans.We network with other sailors and learn from them effective techniques and strategies.We appreciate the natural beauty around us, are awed by the forces against which we are powerless, have developed respect for what we fear, and admiration for each other when we achieve personal victories.
October 2009
enjoy the voyage, and we will celebrate our landfall. MOR: If you had the chance to do it all again, what would you do differently? LM: I honestly would do very little different. I would, however, seek to participate more in professional activities outside my place of employment and devote greater effort to more broadly influence and disseminate my experiential knowledge through publishing and speaking. MOR: What is your vision for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself in that picture? LM: Two areas of personal interest have recently emerged. Nursing needs to advance the science of our discipline by encouraging and supporting our research efforts beyond current levels.We need to encourage the pursuit of doctoral degrees at an earlier age and find sustainable ways to fund postdoctoral work.Toward that end, I have worked to strengthen the evidence-based practice and research agenda within the nursing department at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and have procured philanthropic support for our research fellowship program. I have also come to appreciate the importance of political activism. I believe that nurses must play a greater role in shaping healthcare reform. In order to do so, nurses must overcome the pervasive and persistent nursing stereotypes and capitalize on the large degree of public trust we hold.We must collaborate more to achieve common public health goals.This will require us to overcome the special interests of our numerous subspecialty groups that currently fragment our efforts. I have recently gone to my state’s capitol to lobby on important nursing issues. NL Resiliency and learning are central parts of life onboard. Sailing is both hard work and fun, calming and invigorating, humbling and confidence-building. My sentiment about sailing as a metaphor for life is eloquently expressed in a quote from Mark Twain’s autobiography, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. www.nurseleader.com
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Memorial Hospital’s talented nursing department is making preparations to launch its Magnet Journey. As captain, I have uttermost confidence in the talented, courageous crew and seaworthy vessel. I anticipate smooth sailing, as well as challenges and growth opportunities.We will
Maria W. O’Rourke, RN, DNSc, FAAN, CHC, is the president and CEO of Maria W. O’Rourke, Inc., in Larkspur, CA. She can be reached at [email protected]. Photography by Rick Dewitt © 2009 1541-4612/2009/ $ See front matter Copyright 2009 by Mosby Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mnl.2009.07.007
Nurse Leader
13