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Transcript

08: The Force Behind Community Health: Nurses · Still Caring

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Abby Fox (Intro): Welcome to the Still Caring Podcast,
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presented by Stillwater Medical.
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Joe Akin (Intro): Here, community is at the heart of healthcare.
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Katon Lunsford (Intro): Through honest conversations and shared experiences
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Abby Fox (Intro): we explore what it means to care for our health—
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Joe Akin (Intro): and each other.
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Katon Lunsford (Intro): Because better health takes a village
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and you're part of ours.
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Katon Lunsford (Host 1): Hi, and welcome.
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My name is Katon Lunsford, and I'm the PR communication specialist
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here at Stillwater Medical.
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Today, we're joined by Mary Beth Hunziker, who is the Vice President of Patient
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Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer.
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Mary Beth began in interim basis in May of 2025.
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And now, she has assumed the role permanently, and we are just
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so thankful for her leadership.
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And we're also really thankful that you're taking the time to
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come on here and share your story.
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And so, before we just dive into everything, would you tell us a
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little bit more about yourself and when Stillwater became home to you?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, I am originally from Missouri.
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I've kind of traveled around for a little bit.
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This is the fourth state that I've actually lived in, but I became
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a nurse when I lived in Missouri.
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I got my bachelor's.
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At the time, it was Northeast Missouri State University.
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Now, they call it Truman University.
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And then, did my master's at University of Missouri in Columbia.
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I've done several, many different roles within nursing.
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I've done staff nursing at the bedside for med surg and ICU and even inpatient rehab.
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I've worked as a clinical nurse specialist for quite a while, did a couple years as
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an educator in a nursing program, worked as a nursing director, and now as the CNO.
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So, I moved to Stillwater in 2001 site unseen.
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I had never been to Oklahoma in my life, much less Stillwater.
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So, my husband said, "I have a new job, let's go."
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And I said, "Okay, this is why I'm a nurse.
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I can do anything anywhere."
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So, we moved here and I took a year to just kind of get everybody
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settled in after our move.
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And.
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2002.
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I started at Stillwater Medical and I've been here since.
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Host: I love that.
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That's so awesome.
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So was there like a moment that just stood out where you were
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like, "Okay, Stillwater's my place and I feel at home here?"
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Or was it kind of just this gradual integration into the community?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, it's funny, we showed up, we
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bought a house pretty well immediately.
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It just kind of worked out.
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And I think we were there a day and here comes a neighbor from across the
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street with cookies and she already knew what my husband did and was
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totally welcoming and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, this feels wonderful here."
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it feels wonderful.
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And then, when it came time to get a job, I kept telling my husband, "Stillwater's
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so small, I'm going to have to go to the city or Tulsa to find a job.
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I'm going to have to start commuting again."
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And then, I came here I interviewed in the city and it didn't click.
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And I came here and I interviewed.
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And I went home and I told my husband, I said, "Oh my gosh, you are not going
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to believe what they have in Stillwater.
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You are not going to believe this.
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I want to work there."
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So, that's how I ended up here.
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Host: I love that.
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So, it sounds like you've had kind of different positions and roles in nursing.
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What drew you to this profession and how do you think it shaped
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the person you are today?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: You know, a lot of people when you ask
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them that question, they have a story of, "Oh, my family member had a horrible
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accident" or something, and they were exposed to healthcare along the way.
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But I don't really have one of those stories.
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So, I think there was something in my upbringing because as I was thinking
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about that, I thought, you know, all of my siblings are in helping professions.
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We all do something to help other people, whether it's healthcare or
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teaching or any of those things.
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And I think it was just something about the way we were brought up and
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just that desire that was planted within us to help other people.
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So, that's how I ended up in nursing.
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Host: I love that.
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Yes, I feel like it's definitely a calling and it sounds like it's just something
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that you have deep within you, and that makes it even more special and personal.
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Okay.
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So, as the chief nursing officer at Stillwater Medical.
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How would you describe the impact of nurses on the health of our community?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, Stillwater's only
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just under 50,000 people.
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And I don't know if people realize how many nurses are in this community.
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So just in the Stillwater Medical community, there are over 600 nurses.
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Whether that be LPNs or RNs or nurse practitioners or certified registered
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nurse anesthetists, there's over 600.
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And that doesn't count the number of nurses that also are present in
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the nursing homes in Stillwater, in public health, in our school system.
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So, I think that almost no matter where you go, you're going to interact with
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a nurse, whether you realize it or not.
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You know, when you think about nursing and what they do in the community, they really
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impact people in the community in ways that may kind of go a little bit unseen.
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We all know that when somebody's sick.
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There's that physical component, but there's also usually
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another component to it.
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It's rarely just physical and nurses are usually the first ones to recognize that.
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Recognizing the anxiety or fear or distress when something's going on,
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whether it be identifying that there's cultural needs that need to addressed
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to really care for this person, or even just situations where a person's voice
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isn't being heard, the nurse stepping up to be the advocate for that patient.
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So in our community we see a lot of that and we really see nurses humanizing
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care just by advocating for patients and their preferences and their dignity.
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A lot of work is done.
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Just in overall, you think of a nurse, you think of clinical skills,
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but there's also those clinical skills are combined with presence and
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coordination, education, advocacy.
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And while those skills are going to look different across the different areas
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where nursing practices, they really are the core contributions that are
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consistent no matter where the nurse goes.
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Host: I love that.
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I guess it's just not like care stops in the hospital.
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I think you never stop being a nurse.
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And I think it's just evident, like what you're saying, care
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is not always physical.
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And I just feel like nurses are some of the people in the
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community to step up first and help in whatever way that's needed.
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And so, I think your answer just beautifully sums that up because it's
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a full time, it's always on your mind.
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You're always thinking of helping other people, which is what you mentioned of
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why you wanted to do this profession.
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So, I love that.
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But that's obviously a time-consuming profession.
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It can be very mentally or physically, emotionally draining.
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So, is there a story or like a moment that's really stuck with you during
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your time as a nurse that you draw strength from on really hard days?
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And if so, could you share that with us?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: I don't know that there's truly
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one story that I could point out that I kind of always go back to.
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There's lots of really good moments.
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I've been in nursing for—it's 38 years this year since I got my license.
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And throughout those years, I've always saved thank you
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notes from patients or families.
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And now, I have thank you notes from staff now that I'm not at the bedside anymore.
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But when things get really hard, I truly pull out those thank you notes and I
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just flip through them and it helps me remember why it is I do what I do
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and what's important about that to me.
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And that's really where I draw my strength from.
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Host: Because your job and your profession, you guys, is just
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every day nine to five, like, matters so much to people.
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It's not just something you clock in and out of.
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You're making an impact on people's lives.
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And I think that those thanks yous really showcase that people remember
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you and you've stuck out to them and you guys are sometimes pivotal moments
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in their journeys of health and their life, and I think that's awesome.
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I love that.
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I agree.
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I'm not a nurse, but I do think sometimes there's not one thing
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that keeps you coming back to a job.
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It's just a combination of all the days adding up.
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So, I love that.
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What is one thing—doing a little pivot—what's one thing that you wish
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people knew about being a nurse?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: I wish people—so, this is for those of
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you that have a nurse in your lives.
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I often have friends that are outside of nursing that don't understand,
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especially when I was staffing or when I was closer to the bedside.
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"Why don't you leave on time?
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Why are you always at work?
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What's your problem?"
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it's a different job.
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You can't just put up your books at the end of the day or put your things
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on a shelf and say, "Okay, that's it.
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I'm done.
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I'm clocking out for the day."
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If there's somebody that needs you, if you have a patient that
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isn't doing well, you stick around.
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You don't just walk out on that patient.
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So, give those nurses in your lives some grace and support
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them through what they do.
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But really, I think, overall, I think nursing is one of the
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most rewarding professions.
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Yet at times, it can be one of the hardest careers that you choose,
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but it really gives you the chance to make a difference every day.
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Every day, you can make the difference in somebody's life.
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And, you know, if you're the type of person that feeds off of
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that, it's a wonderful profession.
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Host: I love that.
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What's this?
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This is off.
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Sorry, we don't have this question written down.
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But what does it look like, the transition from working bedside and being with
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patients every day to kind of taking a step back into this administrative
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role to oversee a lot more people and your a chief nursing officer now.
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So, I mean, what's that look like and what's it feel like?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: So, I very first tried management
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when I was really young in my career.
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I was still in Missouri, I think, I was maybe three years into my career.
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And I was nursing manager for the unit where I started as a nurse.
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And after I did that, I said, "Management is not for me.
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I will never do that again."
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So, I went on and I did lots of other things.
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And I always knew that as a bedside nurse, I felt like I really made
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an impact on my group of patients.
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And I felt like I did that well.
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And I went back and got my master's so that I could make a difference
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with a larger group of patients.
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And I did that by being a clinical nurse specialist, which that's a role that
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has a lot of different components to it.
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There's a leadership component to it.
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There's a practice change component to it where you look at what's the latest
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evidence on practice and how do we change things to make it better for our patients.
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You consult on the more difficult, higher acuity patients.
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You help educate nursing, you educate patients and families.
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So, it's one of those kind of catchall roles.
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And in doing that, I saw that I could impact a greater number of patients.
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But then, I also saw that I still stayed current in my bedside skills and
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I could jump in and help when needed.
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And that was always really important to me.
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And I really had no intention of moving back into management.
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I didn't at all.
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And I guess the person that asked me to apply for her role when she was
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retiring saw something in me that I probably didn't see in myself.
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And when she first asked me to apply, I thought, "There is no way.
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I am not meant for that."
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But I did.
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And I found that, in that position, not only did I finally feel
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like I actually found my true love in nursing, my true niche.
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But I also found that I could make a difference for the whole unit of
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patients and for the staff that was caring for those patients, And knowing
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that I'm not going to be here forever.
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We age out after a while, go on and do other things.
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But I felt like I could really make a difference in providing mentorship and
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leadership to staff that are going to keep carrying on what I value so much.
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And I found that that really fed my soul.
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Host: In the past year that you've been in this role, and I know you've mentioned
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you get to provide mentorship and, you know, make changes for the whole unit,
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what has been something in this role that you just absolutely love or something
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you've implemented that you feel like you are like, "Okay, this is my role.
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This is where I'm supposed to be.
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I'm excited that I'm here?"
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: Oh gosh.
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The funny thing is when you take a new position, it's such a fire hose.
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And you're just trying to keep your feet underneath you and get everything done
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and make sure you're meeting expectations.
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And things come up and you deal with them in the instant and you
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really don't think about it because you know that's what needs to be
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done then to keep patients safe and to keep everything moving forward.
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But we had an instance that things didn't go as well as we want them to,
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and I was able to take that and with the help of my team, do a deep dive
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into—we have so many guardrails in healthcare so that people are safe
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and that things go the way they should and we're also a profession of humans.
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And sometimes it's hard to be human when people want you and
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need for you to be perfect.
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So, to take a look at where did our guardrails fail us?
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How do we build our guardrails back up and make sure that everything
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we're doing is safe and people are getting excellent, excellent care?
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The situation really provided me the opportunity to look at that.
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And when we built our guardrails back up and got everybody back on board with,
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"Okay, this is what we need to do and this is how we're going to do it, and
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this is the extra education we're going to do," just the realization that we
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really were able to change patient safety.
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It is a safe place, but we made it even safer by rebuilding guardrails.
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And it struck me that, "Oh my gosh, we made a huge difference
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with just that one little piece."
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Host: And I think that highlights what you were saying about getting
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to change things for a whole unit of patients in this role now.
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And I think that's just a perfect example.
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So, thank you for sharing that.
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So, going in to our last question.
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We like to end all of our conversations with a challenge to care.
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And so, what's one thing that you would encourage listeners to do better care
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for themselves or for the community?
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: I would say, first and foremost, get
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out your pen and paper and write an old-fashioned thank you note to a
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nurse, somebody that impacted you or your family, somebody that just made a
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difference to you, and let them know.
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So often, we think, "Oh, they did such a wonderful job," but we don't take a minute
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just to jot them a quick little note.
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But it's those notes that nurses hang on to that help get them
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through when things are hard.
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So, take a minute, thank a nurse.
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But then also, as you go about your day, just remember that everybody
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you meet is going through something.
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And maybe the person in line in front of you isn't the nicest
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person, but just give them grace.
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Let it go.
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I don't know.
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I just think if we could give each other grace a little bit more and just
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recognize that there is goodness out there, it would make a huge impact
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on our community and our lives.
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Host: I love that.
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And it's like you said, we're all humans and it's just important to remember that,
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that we are the same and that we all have our moments and make our mistakes.
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So, exactly, extend that grace.
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Thank you so much for joining us.
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This was such a great conversation.
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And I think there's a lot of great things for listeners to hear,
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especially coming up on Nurses Week.
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We're really excited to share your story and to just highlight and thank our nurses
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for all the hard work that you guys do in providing care for our community.
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So, thank you, Mary Beth, and have a great rest of your day.
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Thank you.
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Mary Beth Hunziker, MSN, RN, CENP, ACNS-BC, CCRN: Thank you, Katon.