- Email: [email protected]
Jacqueline L. Gonzalez, ARNP, MSN, CNAA, BC, FAAN
Leader To Watch Jacqueline L. Gonzalez, ARNP, MSN, CNAA, BC, FAAN Interview by Carolyn D.Viall, RN, MSN Photography by Jono Fisher © 2007
What has been your journey in nursing? After graduation from the nursing school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, I moved to Charlotte because I wanted to work in pediatrics. I had a tremendous year there working in pediatrics and PICU. It was a very collegial environment, and I learned a lot about the positive aspects of leadership as well as learning lessons from challenges that I would later use to guide me in future leadership decisions. My first job in Miami was as a staff nurse in pediatric hematologyoncology in a community hospital called Variety Children’s Hospital, now known as Miami Children’s Hospital. I always enjoyed working with these special children, but when I got there, I was made aware that it had been a difficult unit to recruit nurses for, and I wanted to make it a better place to overcome that challenge of finding staff. I focused on providing excellence in the quality of care to the children and families, and building an environment that nurses could be proud of and would know that they made a difference in the life of a child. The CNO, Donna Thaler, was an astute mentor who channeled my energy into what has become my career path today. The associate director of nursing was retiring, and 10 Nurse Leader
she challenged me to consider serving in this role. I accepted the position and have been on a different leadership path ever since—one that I have enjoyed taking. In 1995, with the launch of a new CEO, my position was eliminated, and I was promoted to a director of operations role for the hospital. What I learned from this situation was that you have to grow with every experience, and all of them become a part of your tapestry as a leader. I learned about hospital operations, community organizations, business planning, and program development. In 1998, the CNO retired, and I was able to step into her role as vice president/chief nursing officer. While I had a lot to learn, I found that the experiences that I had gained the previous 3 years had well prepared me for challenges ahead. Who has been most influential in your career and in your life? My parents have been most influential in my life. I come from humble beginnings, learning how to meet and overcome hardships and appreciating hard work after being raised on an apple farm in the rural mountains of North Carolina. I learned to have pride in my work and to strive for excellence, from my father. I learned kindness and humility from my mother.
Other professional mentors include my former CNO and Janice Hayes, PhD, RN, my faculty mentor in graduate school. Janice guided me in my research on pain in children and she encouraged me to publish and present the findings. I presented at the first International Pediatric Pain Symposium to an audience that included the scientists in my references, and then she coaxed me to follow up with an article and a book chapter. I have tried to instill this same sense of continuous professional development among my colleagues. Surrounding yourself with good people allows them to grow, but in turn your own spirit is nurtured and challenged to do more. I have also been fortunate to work with great nursing leaders. My children have given me the energy and motivation that is absolutely essential in my work. My son has had many experiences in and with the hospital, and my daughter, who has special needs, is my guiding light to stay focused on my quest for excellence in children’s care. Margretta Styles also inspired and taught me that making a presentation and doing it well requires great preparation. She made it look easy, until one day I watched how she studied everything and everyDecember 2007
one that she was talking about and to, so that she was sure to hit her mark in delivering her speech. She was a great woman and nurse leader and someone I miss. What are the diversity issues in nursing that are important for us to address? It is essential to be culturally sensitive and to seek to understand cultural differences and to also appreciate the commonalities. I try to instill this sense of importance in new nurses. It is essential to derive a sense of enjoyment from what we do, and there are marked advantages in seeing things from the different perspectives of many cultures. Today, more than ever, it is crucial that our student population is more reflective of our patients. In Florida this has been a natural evolution as second generations of young people, whose parents migrated to the United States, are entering nursing, bringing the richness of their cultures with them. As we grow in our leadership roles, our focus may take on a
December 2007
new direction. What is your focus as a nursing leader for the future? My focus as a nurse leader has been to serve as an advocate for not only children’s issues but also as a voice of nursing. In this time of nursing shortage, nursing has a unique opportunity to address the issue in new and creative ways. Problems that we have experienced in the past can now be solved due to the creativity and momentum directed at them. When I say that I am an advocate for the voice of nursing, I mean that I am focused on educating others about the incredible prospects that nursing holds as a career and articulating the role of the nurse to the public. By presenting evidence about the difference that a nurse makes in the care of a patient, nursing’s critical role in improving the health care status of the patient becomes more evident and appreciated. We have a tremendous opportunity to recharge the profession and infuse others with enthu-
siasm about what nursing has to offer and to make changes. How do you feel you have made a contribution to nursing? I would say that any contribution I have made is nothing compared to the gifts I have received from patients, colleagues, and from being a part of this children’s hospital. I have focused on quality and improving children’s health outcomes. In both of these areas, no positive contribution can be achieved without great people. This was evident during our Magnet journey, and I took great pleasure in seeing the nursing staff shine in their pride in their practice. In Miami, I feel that I have made a contribution in building a place where people want to come and work. We had a 23% vacancy rate 10 years ago, and last year we achieved 1.9%. We have done this by staying focused on building a positive work environment where nurses feel proud and satisfied in the care they provide. I have
Nurse Leader 11
Name: Jacqueline L. Gonzalez Hometown: Hendersonville, North Carolina Current job: Senior vice president/chief nurse officer, Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami, Florida Education: MSN, University of Miami, Miami Florida ARNP, Florida International University, Miami, Florida BSN, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina First job in nursing: Pediatrics Most people don’t know that I: Love to grow things and appreciate art, poetry, and photography One thing I want to learn or one thing I would do for myself if I had the time: I would fish, write, travel, and paint more My best advice to aspiring nurse leaders: Set your goals high but take them on in bite-size doses so that you do not get overwhelmed and accomplish nothing
12 Nurse Leader
always let the goal of doing what is best for the child and family guide my decision making. Doing the right thing leads to making good things happen. One of my other sources of pride is that we have built a staff of nurse leaders and experts (both formal and informal) who are well integrated in this region and also at a national and international level. You have many publications and presentations and also run a large nursing organization. How do you do it? I am very driven, and I always remember my father encouraging me to follow my dreams and to strive for excellence in my work. I am very proud to be a nurse and love to talk to others about nursing. I really enjoy talking to graduate nursing students because they challenge me, and I consider it an honor and obligation of my career to mentor others. It charges my battery every day to see how awesome Miami Children’s Hospital nurses are and how lovingly and competently they care for children and their families. I do make time for myself, but I have learned to use my time well. I use the time on plane flights to get work done when I am traveling. I do not let it consume me and my husband. Nelson is my partner, coach, and conscience who reminds me to stay centered and keep in balance. Every day there has to be some time for yourself, and you sometimes have to make a plan for that time. My career has been focused on children’s health, and one of my driving forces has been my own children, Eric and Allyson. Eric has had his share of hospital visits, and Allyson has many health challenges in living with cerebral palsy; I have grown to understand both sides of the coin. While it is not, nor should it be, a prerequisite to caring for children, it has certainly kept me centered and passionate about doing what is right for children and families. Doing what is right means facing challenges, having crucial conversations with those who may need reminding, and it means building coalitions, relationships, and partnerships with those who come together for the common goal of improving children’s health. I December 2007
I would say my hallmark is my passion, commitment, and ability to build teams of people around a great mission. What has been the most fun for you in your leadership roles? I like to have fun and enjoy whatever the work is before me. During the very stressful month of the development of our annual operating budget, I create cartoons of each member of the leadership team. They are on display in the “war room” so that everyone is reminded to not take themselves too seriously (including me), and it also helps the department heads who are presenting their budgets to de-stress a bit, too. How would friends and family describe you? Busy, fun, driven, devoted, loving, family-oriented, and family-centered, I have been called proudly a “nurse’s nurse.” stay in this field because it is what keeps me energized, and it is truly what I love to do. How do you get through the bad days? I get through the bad days by staying centered on the mission of doing what is best for children. I also take a walk around the hospital and am quickly humbled and reminded to keep my own troubles in perspective. What is unique about you as a nurse leader? I am not sure it is unique as I have come to know and enjoy many nurse colleagues who are leaders, but probably
December 2007
Carolyn D. Viall, RN, MSN, is the director of women’s and children’s services at the University of North Carolina Health System in Chapel Hill, NC. She can be reached at [email protected]. 1541-4612/2007/ $ See front matter Copyright 2007 by Mosby Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mnl.2007.09.002
Nurse Leader 13
What has been your journey in nursing? After graduation from the nursing school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, I moved to Charlotte because I wanted to work in pediatrics. I had a tremendous year there working in pediatrics and PICU. It was a very collegial environment, and I learned a lot about the positive aspects of leadership as well as learning lessons from challenges that I would later use to guide me in future leadership decisions. My first job in Miami was as a staff nurse in pediatric hematologyoncology in a community hospital called Variety Children’s Hospital, now known as Miami Children’s Hospital. I always enjoyed working with these special children, but when I got there, I was made aware that it had been a difficult unit to recruit nurses for, and I wanted to make it a better place to overcome that challenge of finding staff. I focused on providing excellence in the quality of care to the children and families, and building an environment that nurses could be proud of and would know that they made a difference in the life of a child. The CNO, Donna Thaler, was an astute mentor who channeled my energy into what has become my career path today. The associate director of nursing was retiring, and 10 Nurse Leader
she challenged me to consider serving in this role. I accepted the position and have been on a different leadership path ever since—one that I have enjoyed taking. In 1995, with the launch of a new CEO, my position was eliminated, and I was promoted to a director of operations role for the hospital. What I learned from this situation was that you have to grow with every experience, and all of them become a part of your tapestry as a leader. I learned about hospital operations, community organizations, business planning, and program development. In 1998, the CNO retired, and I was able to step into her role as vice president/chief nursing officer. While I had a lot to learn, I found that the experiences that I had gained the previous 3 years had well prepared me for challenges ahead. Who has been most influential in your career and in your life? My parents have been most influential in my life. I come from humble beginnings, learning how to meet and overcome hardships and appreciating hard work after being raised on an apple farm in the rural mountains of North Carolina. I learned to have pride in my work and to strive for excellence, from my father. I learned kindness and humility from my mother.
Other professional mentors include my former CNO and Janice Hayes, PhD, RN, my faculty mentor in graduate school. Janice guided me in my research on pain in children and she encouraged me to publish and present the findings. I presented at the first International Pediatric Pain Symposium to an audience that included the scientists in my references, and then she coaxed me to follow up with an article and a book chapter. I have tried to instill this same sense of continuous professional development among my colleagues. Surrounding yourself with good people allows them to grow, but in turn your own spirit is nurtured and challenged to do more. I have also been fortunate to work with great nursing leaders. My children have given me the energy and motivation that is absolutely essential in my work. My son has had many experiences in and with the hospital, and my daughter, who has special needs, is my guiding light to stay focused on my quest for excellence in children’s care. Margretta Styles also inspired and taught me that making a presentation and doing it well requires great preparation. She made it look easy, until one day I watched how she studied everything and everyDecember 2007
one that she was talking about and to, so that she was sure to hit her mark in delivering her speech. She was a great woman and nurse leader and someone I miss. What are the diversity issues in nursing that are important for us to address? It is essential to be culturally sensitive and to seek to understand cultural differences and to also appreciate the commonalities. I try to instill this sense of importance in new nurses. It is essential to derive a sense of enjoyment from what we do, and there are marked advantages in seeing things from the different perspectives of many cultures. Today, more than ever, it is crucial that our student population is more reflective of our patients. In Florida this has been a natural evolution as second generations of young people, whose parents migrated to the United States, are entering nursing, bringing the richness of their cultures with them. As we grow in our leadership roles, our focus may take on a
December 2007
new direction. What is your focus as a nursing leader for the future? My focus as a nurse leader has been to serve as an advocate for not only children’s issues but also as a voice of nursing. In this time of nursing shortage, nursing has a unique opportunity to address the issue in new and creative ways. Problems that we have experienced in the past can now be solved due to the creativity and momentum directed at them. When I say that I am an advocate for the voice of nursing, I mean that I am focused on educating others about the incredible prospects that nursing holds as a career and articulating the role of the nurse to the public. By presenting evidence about the difference that a nurse makes in the care of a patient, nursing’s critical role in improving the health care status of the patient becomes more evident and appreciated. We have a tremendous opportunity to recharge the profession and infuse others with enthu-
siasm about what nursing has to offer and to make changes. How do you feel you have made a contribution to nursing? I would say that any contribution I have made is nothing compared to the gifts I have received from patients, colleagues, and from being a part of this children’s hospital. I have focused on quality and improving children’s health outcomes. In both of these areas, no positive contribution can be achieved without great people. This was evident during our Magnet journey, and I took great pleasure in seeing the nursing staff shine in their pride in their practice. In Miami, I feel that I have made a contribution in building a place where people want to come and work. We had a 23% vacancy rate 10 years ago, and last year we achieved 1.9%. We have done this by staying focused on building a positive work environment where nurses feel proud and satisfied in the care they provide. I have
Nurse Leader 11
Name: Jacqueline L. Gonzalez Hometown: Hendersonville, North Carolina Current job: Senior vice president/chief nurse officer, Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami, Florida Education: MSN, University of Miami, Miami Florida ARNP, Florida International University, Miami, Florida BSN, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina First job in nursing: Pediatrics Most people don’t know that I: Love to grow things and appreciate art, poetry, and photography One thing I want to learn or one thing I would do for myself if I had the time: I would fish, write, travel, and paint more My best advice to aspiring nurse leaders: Set your goals high but take them on in bite-size doses so that you do not get overwhelmed and accomplish nothing
12 Nurse Leader
always let the goal of doing what is best for the child and family guide my decision making. Doing the right thing leads to making good things happen. One of my other sources of pride is that we have built a staff of nurse leaders and experts (both formal and informal) who are well integrated in this region and also at a national and international level. You have many publications and presentations and also run a large nursing organization. How do you do it? I am very driven, and I always remember my father encouraging me to follow my dreams and to strive for excellence in my work. I am very proud to be a nurse and love to talk to others about nursing. I really enjoy talking to graduate nursing students because they challenge me, and I consider it an honor and obligation of my career to mentor others. It charges my battery every day to see how awesome Miami Children’s Hospital nurses are and how lovingly and competently they care for children and their families. I do make time for myself, but I have learned to use my time well. I use the time on plane flights to get work done when I am traveling. I do not let it consume me and my husband. Nelson is my partner, coach, and conscience who reminds me to stay centered and keep in balance. Every day there has to be some time for yourself, and you sometimes have to make a plan for that time. My career has been focused on children’s health, and one of my driving forces has been my own children, Eric and Allyson. Eric has had his share of hospital visits, and Allyson has many health challenges in living with cerebral palsy; I have grown to understand both sides of the coin. While it is not, nor should it be, a prerequisite to caring for children, it has certainly kept me centered and passionate about doing what is right for children and families. Doing what is right means facing challenges, having crucial conversations with those who may need reminding, and it means building coalitions, relationships, and partnerships with those who come together for the common goal of improving children’s health. I December 2007
I would say my hallmark is my passion, commitment, and ability to build teams of people around a great mission. What has been the most fun for you in your leadership roles? I like to have fun and enjoy whatever the work is before me. During the very stressful month of the development of our annual operating budget, I create cartoons of each member of the leadership team. They are on display in the “war room” so that everyone is reminded to not take themselves too seriously (including me), and it also helps the department heads who are presenting their budgets to de-stress a bit, too. How would friends and family describe you? Busy, fun, driven, devoted, loving, family-oriented, and family-centered, I have been called proudly a “nurse’s nurse.” stay in this field because it is what keeps me energized, and it is truly what I love to do. How do you get through the bad days? I get through the bad days by staying centered on the mission of doing what is best for children. I also take a walk around the hospital and am quickly humbled and reminded to keep my own troubles in perspective. What is unique about you as a nurse leader? I am not sure it is unique as I have come to know and enjoy many nurse colleagues who are leaders, but probably
December 2007
Carolyn D. Viall, RN, MSN, is the director of women’s and children’s services at the University of North Carolina Health System in Chapel Hill, NC. She can be reached at [email protected]. 1541-4612/2007/ $ See front matter Copyright 2007 by Mosby Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mnl.2007.09.002
Nurse Leader 13