Happy Employee Appreciation Day! These words may sound hollow given all that you have gone through in the past year, but I want to assure you that each of you are truly appreciated and valued for your contributions to UAMS.
I get it. Times are tough right now, tougher than almost all of us have ever seen in our careers. Going over the list of challenges our nursing team faces day in and day out can be mind-numbing. Looking back to the beginning of COVID two years ago, everything wasn’t perfect to begin with, and since then the challenges have multiplied. Many of the challenges we currently face are out of our control, making things even more frustrating. From lack of affordable daycare and school closings due to COVID to staffing shortages, supply chain issues, higher prices for drugs and other supplies, the list seems to go on and on.
These challenges didn’t happen overnight, and they will not be resolved quickly. However, I’m confident that by working together we will be able to overcome them and come out of this a stronger, better UAMS.
Someone much wiser than me recommended that I pick one project to focus on, solve it, celebrate it, and move on to the next. This is a bit like the quote from Desmond Tutu about how to eat an elephant – one bite at a time.
As we work together to consume this elephant, I ask three things of you – patience, kindness and participation. There’s no magic “they” out there to resolve the challenges we are facing – “we” must do this work ourselves. The work will be more enjoyable and fulfilling if we make the effort to treat each other with kindness and respect and recognize the challenges so many of us are facing in both our work and personal lives.
My sleeves are rolled up, and I’m ready to continue to showcase that UAMS is the best, most rewarding, place for nurses in Arkansas. Please join me. In one year, I hope we’ll look back with satisfaction on all we’ve accomplished together.
Gratefully yours,
Trenda