Brilliance at the bedside: Engaging frontline nurses to improve patient outcomes

This past week, I had the the opportunity to join colleagues and nursing leaders at the Becker's Healthcare Annual Meeting to join two panel discussions about how Sanford Health is tapping into the expertise of our nurses to promote positive patient outcomes. Below are some of my key takeaways from the conversations I had the privilege of being apart of.

A commitment to your calling

As Chief Nursing Officer for Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, I am honored to lead and support our nearly 9,000 nurses who care for patients and residents across our inpatient, ambulatory and post-acute settings. Our nurses are the heart of our organization, carrying out our mission to provide safe, high-quality care for our patients and residents. When a nurse begins a career at Sanford Health, we make a commitment to them to ensure they can have a fulfilling career that allows them to live out their calling as caregivers.

Innovation and discovery at the bedside

This commitment to our nurses is grounded in a culture of innovation and discovery—starting at the bedside. Our bedside nurses provide face-to-face care for the patients and residents who come to us in their time of need. They are our eyes and ears and direct connection to those we care for. One of the opportunities I enjoy most about my role is the ability to connect with nurses serving in this critical role. It is my goal to empower our nurses to use their voice to make a positive impact on our patients, residents and peers. I like to call this brilliance at the bedside—putting into action what we’re hearing our frontline nurses need, while also improving patient care.

One of the ways we’re able to implement the feedback we receive from our nurses is through our unique shared governance structure. Our shared governance structure stretches across our entire Sanford nursing community, including the Good Samaritan Society as well as in our ambulatory and acute care settings. This collaboration allows nursing leaders to share and lift up their frontline teams’ voices in order to help us solve the challenges we are navigating.

Communicating the ‘why’

Feedback from bedside nurses isn’t only fundamental to patient and resident care, it is also a vital aspect of implementing any new process or technology. There is a workforce crisis happening in health care and it is imperative we find the best solutions to help alleviate this burden on our nurses. At Sanford Health, we’re at the forefront of implementing innovative technology to help build resiliency and sustain our workforce. We’re harnessing automation and AI to ensure our nurses can focus on what is most fulfilling to them—caring for those we serve. Anytime we make changes to the ‘norm’, we’re sensitive to the disruption it can cause if the new program or initiative is not rolled out in partnership with our teams. Because of this, we are very intentional about navigating change management carefully, and always communicate the why behind it. If something needs to change or a new tool needs to be utilized, we let our nurses know ‘we have to work differently, and here’s why’.

Two-way communication

Since our bedside nurses are the ones best able to inform us what will or won’t work, we are also deliberate about engaging with them from idea to implementation. This empowers nurses to provide their feedback and use their voices to influence any change in their daily workflows, which has an impact on their patients as well.

Relationships at the core

Effective communication is only possible through healthy relationships. The emotional and mental well-being of our nurses who sacrifice every day to care for patients is our utmost priority. We are committed to building trust, creating a culture of well-being and equipping nurses with relationship skills and tools to support them in challenging situations. These relationship skills contribute to resiliency in our workforce. At Sanford Health, leaders are encouraged to develop stronger relationships with their teams by creating a safe and trusting environment to connect with their employees, celebrate their achievements and focus on ways to improve their well-being. This provides an opportunity for our nurses to take an active role in their development by setting professional goals, seeking feedback and support and tracking their progress.

Celebrating our nurses

It is important that we lift up the critical role our nurses play in providing high-quality care to our patients and residents. There are a number of different ways Sanford Health recognizes how our nurses are advancing care. Through highlighting their important work, awards and recognition, events and celebrations, I hope every nurse in our health system knows they are valued and celebrated. My favorite way to show our nurses how much they are appreciated is through rounding with our staff, listening to what they have to say and advocating for what they need to continue to be the best caregivers they can be.