Colleagues,
Last year was a huge one for UAMS Nursing. I’ll have a more detailed recap at the annual CNO Address at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 24, in the Lobby Gallery, but I’d like to share a few highlights.
In addition to earning Magnet status (yay!), we made significant improvements in staffing.
For example:
- We hired and onboarded 83 new graduate RNs between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. We have already hired and onboarded 100 more since then, and we plan to hire more new grad RNs from the May 2025 graduate pool.
- As of this week we have 52 fewer vacant RN positions than we had one year ago. This includes additional positions added to open more beds on A7.
- We hired an average of 4.75 more RNs a month in 2024 than in 2023. In total, we brought in 330 new RNs across UAMS in 2024.
- We currently have 12.6 full-time equivalent travelers in inpatient units, which is less than half of what we had a year ago.
Yes, we’re getting there! I hope you are seeing and feeling a real difference in your unit and your work-life balance. My goal is to make even more progress this year as part of my “Thrive in ‘25” mantra. As the statistics above illustrate, last year was a rebuilding and recovery year. This year is about creating a new, more satisfying “groove” that we can comfortably stay in while working on continuous improvements in quality, safety, patient experience and employee satisfaction.
Like me, many of you have worked at other hospitals and know that one of the things that makes UAMS unique and so attractive to so many nurses is our quest for improvement and the opportunity to participate in research, process improvement and better outcomes. As our workforce continues to stabilize, all these activities and opportunities will be a big part of our “thriving” goals.
It’s not just about making UAMS better – it’s about making ourselves better, too. Here at UAMS there are lots of opportunities to learn new things, explore different nursing fields, teach and mentor others, participate in innovative treatments and pilot new programs. It’s just not a “status quo” type of environment. That’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed around so long.
Appreciation of and desire for this type of environment are things I always look for in our Employee Engagement surveys. I want to make sure nurses across our organization have the same type of opportunities for growth that I’ve experienced at UAMS.
You may have heard remarks about last year’s survey results at last month’s Chancellor’s Town Hall. I’m delving into the survey results and your comments now and am noting areas where you think we’re thriving and where we can do better. I’ll talk more about the survey results on Feb. 24.
These survey results will be integrated into the nursing strategic plan we’ll be developing this year. This plan will address the “what’s next” question that follows Magnet designation and help guide us as we move into our thriving and growing era.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost five years since the COVID epidemic began and overturned our world. Think of all the changes that have taken place since then and the technology that we now consider essential. There were no Teams chats or meetings, telemedicine was in its infancy, we didn’t have a robust ECMO program like we have now, the vast majority of our surgeries and procedures were done at the main hospital before The Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital and the Urology Center opened, AI was mostly in sci-fi movies, and the list goes on and on.
Our thriving world of the future won’t be “the good old days.” Hopefully, it will be better. However, to achieve this we need everyone’s input to make a nursing culture at UAMS that is satisfying for everyone from new grad RNs to those nearing retirement. I want to hear what you want to preserve from our past and how you want to use technology to make your work more fulfilling.
Complaints I often read about health care include technology has made it more impersonal and health care professionals are frustrated by so many barriers to care. But what if AI tools like this one at Stanford can improve patient care?
The possibilities are really exciting, and I look forward to working with you to create a UAMS Nursing culture that continues to attract the best and brightest in our field. If you have ideas to share, I hope you will join me at an upcoming Talk with Tammy session from 11:00 a.m. to noon on Thursday, March 13, or 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 15. Click here to register.
I’m looking forward to sharing more at the CNO Address and hope to see you there! If you can get away and be there early, we’ll have light refreshments and time to socialize at 10:30. Creative Services will also be there to sell t-shirts before the meeting from 10:15 to 11:00am and after the meeting from 12:00 – 12:30pm, accepting cash and credit cards for payment.
Tammy Jones, PHD, RN, NE-BC
Chief Nursing Officer
Associate Vice Chancellor for Patient Care Services & Clinical Operations
Perioperative, Interventional & Imaging Services Division