Dear Nursing Family,
Even though it doesn’t feel like it outside, “summer” will be over after this weekend. I hope everyone has settled into your back-to-school routines. Despite the traffic and lines in the cafeteria, it’s nice to have our UAMS students back on campus – there’s just a different energy around when they’re here.
I love seeing so many of you wearing your new pink UAMS sweatshirts. I can’t wait until next month when we “Paint Arkansas Pink” again this year!
It’s hard to believe, but our 62 new grad RNs already have two months at UAMS under their belts, and we’ve welcomed even more new nurses since July 1. I’m thrilled to welcome the nurses who will be joining UAMS Nursing on Oct. 1 at our new hospital and clinic in Bryant. We’re thrilled to welcome so many of the current staff at Arkansas Heart Hospital’s Encore facility to UAMS. Even though they will be working in a familiar environment, there will be changes and new things to learn for this team (like Epic), and we have plans to help with the transition.
To welcome these new nurses to UAMS, we are creating a Clinical Bridge Team to orient and support our new colleagues and ensure safe, compassionate care for our patients and families. Whether it’s at this new facility in Bryant, a clinic in El Dorado or Jonesboro, or on the main campus, please remember that Nursing is a team sport. UAMS CARES (Compassion, Attention, Respect, Empathy, and Service) is an easy way to remember expectations for our work force.
Please share your institutional knowledge, energy, tips and tricks you’ve learned from other jobs or conferences and an extra hand when needed. Working together and pitching in to help each other benefits our patients, and it makes UAMS a stronger and happier place to work.
Take a few minutes to check on your new colleagues. Ask how they’re really doing and actively listen, validating their views and perceptions. Encourage questions and serve as a safe space where new nurses can admit that they don’t yet know all the answers. Being able to ask questions that may seem embarrassing helps protect patients and the new nurse. There is sooo much to learn – it’s impossible for everyone to process all the information thrown at them in the first few months of a new job. And, things change around here — you can probably learn a few things from nurses who have recently participated in New Employee Orientation. (Did you know Creative Services now sells T-shirts Monday through Friday? And we have a new campus map for employees.
Our new grads and preceptees have an official preceptor assigned to them (thank you for doing this valuable service!), but we can all serve as unofficial mentors, sharing information and offering to help when they’re experiencing an unusually heavy load. Be the person no one’s afraid to ask “silly” questions. All questions are important.
When coaching new nurses on “the UAMS way,” take the time to explain why we do it this way and how it helps protect patients or staff. Share your time-management secrets and help break down barriers whenever you can. Remember the proverb about teaching to fish instead of giving a fish so new employees can develop independence and knowledge to solve problems on their own in the future. If someone makes a mistake, follow-up with correcting information in a calm, private teaching moment.
Share how you or others struggled in your first few months to help normalize the struggle of adapting to a new job.
Create a welcoming environment and introduce new nurses to others on your unit or in your clinic. Encourage them to join you for lunch and breaks, and invite them to go with you for “errands” such as a trip to the gift shop, mail room, pharmacy, or parking office.
I think Dolly Parton did a nice job of summarizing what I’m trying to say — “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader (nurse).”
I look forward to talking with all our new UAMS nurses in the coming weeks. I know I’ll hear lots of stories about how welcoming you’ve been.
Be safe and enjoy these last few days of summer.
Tammy
Tammy Jones, PHD, RN, NE-BC
Chief Nursing Officer
Associate Vice Chancellor for Patient Care Services & Clinical Operations
Perioperative, Interventional & Imaging Services Division