Nurturing Nurses At Points of Contact

A recent trip down memory lane fueled my commitment to nurturing nurses at points of contact.

I have an amazing circle of nurse friends, some who have known me since my novice days …

When dinosaurs roamed the earth and big, and I mean BIG hair, and even bigger shoulder pads were the height (no pun intended) of fashion.

I recently had a virtual catch-up and as usual the conversation turned to nursing.

We reminisced about our most memorable encounters-- the ones that shaped us as nurses and people.

Each of us is north of 60 years on the planet and 40 years in the profession, so we had a bit of ground to cover.

After reminiscing, we each shared our visions for our profession.

We’ve had careers that have brought joy and meaning into our lives.

We feel a sense of belongingness to ourselves, our colleagues, and our profession.

And we want that for our fellow nurses.

I shared my points of contact framing for nurturing and supporting nurses across practice settings, roles and career trajectories.

As a reminder, a point of contact is a place or situation in which a person interacts with a system (In this case, a nurse interacting with the healthcare system).

And of course, I did so by sharing a story of a nurse called Alex on a career path.

Student Alex:

• Received a scholarship and was the first in the family to go to college
• Entered the program feeling enormous pressure to excel
• Benefitted from the many supports offered at the school: a coaching-style advising and mentor program, 4th-year student peer coaches; an inclusive curriculum that included relational skills, stress management and self-care practices

Transitioning-to-Practice Alex:

• Pre-graduation: Continued with coaching-style mentoring and advising, attended workshops to assist with job searching (resume writing, interview skills, job shadowing, signs of healthy work environment, etc.)
• After-graduation: Participated in regular “check-ins” with new grad support services; had continued access to library and online resources for self-care, stress management etc.

Novice Nurse Alex:

• Participated in Nurse Residency program that included small group coaching, opportunities to connect with other new hires, and workshops on self-care, stress management and relational skills. In addition to the preceptor, additional nurses are identified as “go-to” support people.

Experienced Nurse Alex Goes to Grad School:

• Receives similar coaching-style mentoring and advising
• Is supported in workplace by nurse manager to accommodate school schedule
• Grad school QI project implemented on unit
• Milestones celebrated at work and school

Nurse Leader Alex:

• Participates in leadership development program
• Works with leadership coach, paid for the organization
• This same support would be available for new faculty.

The good news is that we can do this right now!

And the cost of implementation?

Pennies on the dollar of what we are spending on staff turnover, burnout, temporary staff, overtime, and adverse patient outcomes.

There is a growing body of nurse consultants, coaches, educators, and innovative thinkers who are poised to intervene at all points of contact along the nursing career trajectory.

Can you imagine what a game-changer it would be if we nurtured nurses like Alex at every step along the way?!

As nurses, we know the impact of patient empowerment, engagement and preventative care.

Let’s apply that knowledge to ourselves and stop the epidemic of disconnect, exhaustion and burnout in nursing.