My Experience As A Co-Professional Nurse

Everyone can look at multiple points in their lives and pinpoint numerous pivotal moments that have changed the course of their lives, as well as shaped who they are and the decisions they will make. As a nurse, I think it’s harder to pinpoint one specific moment or thing that we have done and how it has shaped us. Nursing encompasses a wide variety of experiences, from learning and education, to patient encounters, pursuing career goals, and forming co-worker relationships.

During my time thus far as a nurse, I have focused on advocating for and supporting nurses in various ways, which is one of the things I’m the proudest of. I started my healthcare career working as a health tech in a group home and then as a CNA in a mental health unit.

I used my experience as a new nurse to change our orientation process. Our unit had previously rotated the new hires through a variety of preceptors, which led people to feel as though they were being shuffled around and not given a full orientation, as none of the preceptors were sure where the prior preceptor had left off. Working with my nurse manager, we were able to set up a system where the new hire was assigned to one RN during their first week on a shift and then rotated through other preceptors on a set schedule. This provided more consistency and direction to give a more consistent foundational knowledge of the VA and our unit, as well as more consistency when reviewing our orientation proficiency. I precepted many nurses while I worked on my unit, as well as in all the positions I have held within the VA. Of the nurses I precepted, the majority have stayed with the VA and have since moved on to more specialized roles. Many of these nurses have since expressed their appreciation for the orientation I provided, as they also felt they did not receive a thorough orientation in their new roles. I also created an orientation binder for our facility to utilize for new hires. This provides basic information for our VA (maps, unit designations, guides for our charting and medication administration systems, points of contact, how to access policies, general VA approved acronyms and commonly used program

This council serves as a resource for numerous roles within nursing – RNs, LPNs, CNAs, and Health techs. We are also involved in numerous aspects of nursing practice, including roles and responsibilities, practice changes, creating and reviewing policies, and supporting our Unit Based Practice Councils (UBPC). I work closely with every unit and department, as well as with our Clinical Nurse Educators and our facility leadership. We have shifted our focus at the VA to a shared governance model, but are struggling to engage floor staff and those directly involved with patient care. This is due to a variety of factors, most of which are unfortunately out of our control as they relate to budgeting and staffing methodology. I have been involved with numerous policy and practice changes since assuming this role, including advocating for a sharp debridement RN policy for our podiatry nurses, reducing redundant charting with our floor staff to reduce workload, and recommending changes to our intermittent staff policy. I was part of the initial deployment of our UBPCs and the push for our direct staff to be involved in policy and practice changes. I advocate strongly to keep these councils running and working on projects that are important to them. I recently received feedback that one of our clinics was hoping to reinstate their UBPC but were told by their nurse manager that it would not be feasible, as