Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Josh Orzel on Building the Next Generation of Nursing Leaders and Supporting the Frontline Workforce

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Josh Orzel on Building the Next Generation of Nursing Leaders and Supporting the Frontline Workforce · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

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  - This is Laura Dierda with the Beck Nurse
• 1:00
  - Healthcare Podcast.
• 1:01
  - I'm thrilled today to be joined by Josh
• 1:03
  - Orzel, chief nursing officer at Saline Health System.
• 1:06
  - Josh, it's a pleasure to have you on
• 1:07
  - the podcast today. Yeah, Laura. Thanks so much.
• 1:09
  - I appreciate you taking the time and inviting
• 1:11
  - me on. Absolutely.
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  - And, you know, I I know you just
• 1:14
  - took on the role of chief nursing officer
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  - at Salina Health. So we'll definitely talk a
• 1:18
  - little bit about that and then, dig into
• 1:21
  - your perspective on leadership and and what you're
• 1:23
  - excited about for the next several months here.
• 1:25
  - But before we do that, can you tell
• 1:26
  - us a little bit more about yourself and
• 1:28
  - your background?
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  - Sure. So I've been at Celine now from
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  - the beginning of March of this year.
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  - Been with Lifepoint,
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  - as the enterprise
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  - for just over a year now, previously at
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  - Lake Havasu,
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  - or rather in Lake Havasu, Arizona at Havasu
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  - Regional Medical Center,
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  - where I served as the assistant chief nursing
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  - officer. And I've come over to Salim
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  - initially as the interim
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  - CNO and now as the permanent CNO.
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  - So I've been a nurse for
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  - about fifteen years now across a various
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  - number
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  - of specialties.
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  - I've been a leadership for about eight years,
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  - and
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  - I'm really excited for
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  - what Celine offers,
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  - not only to me as a personal or
• 2:13
  - as a professional, but to our community.
• 2:16
  - Well, that's great to hear. Now I think
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  - just to start off, what are some of
• 2:20
  - the biggest challenges that you're seeing facing nursing
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  - teams today? How are you looking at, you
• 2:25
  - know, all the changes that have been happening
• 2:27
  - right now and and then, some of the
• 2:29
  - different ways that nursing teams are really, really
• 2:32
  - stretched and challenged today?
• 2:34
  - Yeah. So there are a number of unique
• 2:37
  - challenges that are currently facing health care. And
• 2:40
  - when you look at the challenges that we've
• 2:43
  - kind of faced over the last five or
• 2:45
  - six years,
• 2:46
  - coming through the pandemic and now coming into,
• 2:48
  - you know, an increasingly
• 2:49
  - complex
• 2:51
  - medical and social
• 2:53
  - environment for our patients,
• 2:56
  - nurses
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  - are continuously
• 2:58
  - tasked with doing more. And
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  - part of that
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  - has
• 3:04
  - been great for our patients and part of
• 3:06
  - that has been great for nurses, but they
• 3:07
  - both provide the, you know, really unique challenges
• 3:10
  - to our workforce.
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  - So
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  - when you look at what we do as
• 3:15
  - nurses,
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  - nurses often see patients
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  - on their darkest days,
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  - and we ask nurses to bring compassion to
• 3:23
  - some of life's most most challenging moments.
• 3:26
  - And our responsibility as as nursing leaders and
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  - as healthcare leaders is making sure they're supported
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  - and that we can
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  - continue to help them develop
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  - not only in their careers, but,
• 3:37
  - support them in their personal lives outside the
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  - hospital as well.
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  - Got it. That makes a lot of sense
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  - and, you know, it is really helpful to
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  - understand.
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  - And and when you think about how the
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  - nursing workforce is evolving and and
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  - facing some really big challenges and and needing,
• 3:53
  - you know, some of that extra support, what
• 3:55
  - does that look like for you? How are
• 3:56
  - you making sure that the individual caregivers as
• 4:00
  - well as the broader teams have what they
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  - need in order to be successful and care
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  - for patients, but also care for themselves.
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  - Yeah. So when you focus on
• 4:09
  - kind of what we do as nurse leaders
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  - and you look at opportunities for us to
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  - support them, you know, retention is is critical,
• 4:16
  - obviously, to our our workforce and our community,
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  - but it's also critical to making sure that
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  - the nursing teams have the support that they
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  - need. You know, burnout is a is a
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  - challenge across the industry, challenge across many industries,
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  - but it's very relevant to health care. And,
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  - again, as as I said earlier, when you
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  - look at how we've kind of come through
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  - the pandemic and we move into the next
• 4:36
  - phase of of, you know, societal challenges associated
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  - with health care, we need to make sure
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  - that our frontline staff
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  - have what they need to take care of
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  - our patients and take care of our communities,
• 4:46
  - and again, take care of themselves.
• 4:48
  - And kind of one of the ways that
• 4:50
  - we do that as nursing leaders
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  - is supporting our culture and and at Celine
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  - and and a number of the organizations that
• 4:58
  - I've worked in the past. And part of
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  - my job as the chief nursing officer
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  - is kind of maintaining that culture and and
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  - supporting it and
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  - acknowledging that our frontline nurses have challenges,
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  - acknowledging that they go through things out of
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  - work, and doing our best as leaders to
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  - help guide them in their practice and and,
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  - like I said, help support them through those
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  - challenges. So we really focus on our culture
• 5:20
  - at Saline and driving that culture of caring
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  - to make sure that
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  - not only do we take care of the
• 5:27
  - nurses or take care of our patients rather,
• 5:29
  - but to make sure that we take care
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  - of our frontline staff.
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  - Absolutely. I think that makes a ton of
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  - sense and, you know, it's so helpful to
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  - have that kind of mindset going in. Now
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  - what do you see as some of the
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  - best opportunities to grow a strong nursing talent
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  - pipeline within a health system? I know it's
• 5:44
  - so important to have,
• 5:46
  - a strong leadership across the board. And so
• 5:48
  - what do you do and and look for
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  - as you're building that nursing leadership pipeline?
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  - So
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  - when you look at how nurses
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  - practice and how nurses focus and the things
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  - that are important to us, we got into
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  - health care and specifically nursing because we wanna
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  - take care of people.
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  - And
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  - we're great at doing that.
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  - When you look at
• 6:09
  - the experience that new grad nurses have now
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  - versus the experience that new grads had thirty
• 6:14
  - years ago, it's a vastly different world and
• 6:17
  - a vastly different nursing environment.
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  - So part of the thing that we do
• 6:22
  - as leaders
• 6:23
  - is ensuring that, again, supporting our culture, supporting
• 6:27
  - our talent pipeline, but making sure that those
• 6:30
  - opportunities for early engagement, for mentorship opportunities,
• 6:34
  - and just talent development exist within our organization.
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  - The
• 6:40
  - whole pipeline for leadership
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  - begins
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  - very early on in your career.
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  - Irrespective of what you intend to do with
• 6:49
  - your nursing career,
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  - it is incumbent on us as leaders to
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  - make sure that if you
• 6:54
  - identify somewhere that you want to grow,
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  - that we are able to support you as
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  - a leader, as an organization,
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  - and help get you to where you want
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  - to be with
• 7:05
  - within the profession.
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  - And part of how I predicate my success
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  - as an executive
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  - is
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  - based on the success of those around me.
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  - So when I see new grad nurses that
• 7:17
  - successfully come through our residency programs,
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  - part of my job is to help support
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  - them. Part of my job is to help
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  - celebrate them, to make sure that they feel,
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  - you know, a similar experience to what I
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  - had when I came through nursing.
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  - And I I try and do the same
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  - for our leaders. So, you know, we have
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  - some very strong clinical programs with our local
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  - schools, with our local
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  - professional development organizations,
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  - and we
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  - make sure that anybody within the organization who
• 7:46
  - wants to grow, whether it's as a leader,
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  - as an educator,
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  - as an advanced practice nurse,
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  - that they have the tools and resources that
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  - they need
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  - to do so if they choose so.
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  - I love that. I I think having those
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  - opportunities available makes such a big difference when
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  - you're especially an early career person with big
• 8:05
  - aspirations wanting to care for patients, but also,
• 8:08
  - be a leader among the profession. So that's
• 8:11
  - really
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  - cool and interesting to hear.
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  - Now what are you most excited about for
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  - the next twelve months, especially taking on this
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  - new role and looking out and and having
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  - many opportunities in front of you?
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  - So when I graduated nursing school actually, even
• 8:24
  - prior to me graduating nursing school, on day
• 8:26
  - one of nursing,
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  - I had a professor at the time.
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  - She was called Ruth Pollock, and I think
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  - she's since retired. Actually, I shouldn't say I
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  - think. I know she's since retired from nursing.
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  - She told us day one of nursing school
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  - that
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  - you will have all the opportunities
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  - in the world as a nurse when you
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  - get this degree, but the next four years
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  - are gonna be the most challenging part of
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  - your career.
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  - And she was correct in the sense that
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  - nursing school is incredibly challenging,
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  - but she was also correct in the sense
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  - that
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  - nursing is a phenomenal
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  - profession
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  - to be able to do a multitude of
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  - different things.
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  - I never envisioned myself as a nursing leader.
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  - And
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  - although I came into the profession
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  - kind of open minded,
• 9:15
  - understanding that there was worlds of opportunities in
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  - front of me, If you told me fifteen
• 9:21
  - years ago that I'd be sitting here in
• 9:22
  - a chief nursing officer position,
• 9:24
  - I would have questioned your sanity.
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  - But now that I'm here,
• 9:28
  - some of the things that I've been able
• 9:30
  - to do with my career
• 9:32
  - have really reinforced that
• 9:35
  - leadership is not something that you choose. It
• 9:38
  - is truthfully something that you're called towards.
• 9:42
  - Part of what we intend to do as
• 9:44
  - nurse leaders
• 9:46
  - is
• 9:47
  - look at processes,
• 9:49
  - look at
• 9:50
  - variations in practice, and look at,
• 9:54
  - you know, our
• 9:55
  - ability to influence change
• 9:58
  - within our organization.
• 10:00
  - So for me at Celine,
• 10:02
  - I'm really excited to
• 10:04
  - looking for or to to learn
• 10:07
  - from my nursing staff things that I don't
• 10:09
  - know, learn about the organization things that I
• 10:12
  - don't know,
• 10:13
  - and
• 10:14
  - learn different ways that I can help them
• 10:18
  - do their job better,
• 10:20
  - take care of our patients at a higher
• 10:22
  - level of care, take care of our community,
• 10:24
  - you know, really just building those relationships,
• 10:28
  - developing the next generation of nurses and nursing
• 10:30
  - leaders,
• 10:32
  - and
• 10:33
  - really
• 10:34
  - focusing on the the the kind of the
• 10:36
  - foundation that we have
• 10:38
  - and continuing to provide opportunities for our team
• 10:40
  - members to grow.
• 10:42
  - It's not a specific project.
• 10:44
  - It's not one specific thing that I'm excited
• 10:47
  - for at Saleem.
• 10:49
  - It's the opportunity to invest in our
• 10:52
  - our workforce, our talent, our community.
• 10:55
  - Because when you
• 10:57
  - invest in your community and then you invest
• 10:59
  - in your your
• 11:01
  - your people within the hospital,
• 11:03
  - quality improves, patient experience improves,
• 11:06
  - and the entire organization,
• 11:07
  - the entire community benefits. If you take care
• 11:10
  - of your frontline staff, they will take care
• 11:12
  - of your hospital and then allow you to
• 11:15
  - continue to take care of the community.
• 11:18
  - I love that. That's such a strong way
• 11:20
  - to think about leadership and and how, you
• 11:23
  - continue to grow and and develop and, you
• 11:26
  - know, many, many, many exciting things ahead.
• 11:30
  - And I'm curious before we wrap up here,
• 11:32
  - what advice would you have for early career
• 11:34
  - nurses who are have aspirations of growing and
• 11:37
  - developing and being in the position you are?
• 11:40
  - So many nurse leaders get caught up in
• 11:45
  - what they can do for the organization
• 11:47
  - and therefore,
• 11:48
  - what they can grow or how they can
• 11:50
  - grow rather
• 11:51
  - and, you know, they look at the next
• 11:53
  - job, the next title.
• 11:55
  - It's not uncommon for me to interview nurse
• 11:58
  - leaders who
• 12:00
  - are excited about the opportunity in front of
• 12:02
  - them, but they're not really focused on that
• 12:05
  - job. They're looking for the stepping stone to
• 12:08
  - the next job.
• 12:09
  - I think it's really important as a newer
• 12:11
  - nurse leader to
• 12:14
  - truly just stay humble.
• 12:16
  - Keep learning.
• 12:17
  - Learn about your organization. Learn about your community.
• 12:21
  - Build those relationships
• 12:23
  - because
• 12:24
  - as you get closer to the top of
• 12:26
  - nursing leadership or leadership in general,
• 12:28
  - the pyramid gets smaller.
• 12:30
  - So
• 12:31
  - when you reach out to members of your
• 12:33
  - community,
• 12:34
  - members of your of the health care community
• 12:36
  - outside of your organization or outside of your
• 12:38
  - enterprise
• 12:40
  - and build those relationships,
• 12:41
  - whether it's through direct communication,
• 12:44
  - networking at conferences,
• 12:46
  - or
• 12:47
  - just bumping into people in public.
• 12:50
  - Keep those contacts.
• 12:52
  - Don't burn bridges,
• 12:53
  - you know, really focus on relationship
• 12:56
  - development.
• 12:57
  - Again, within your organization, but without
• 13:00
  - external to your organization as well. Because you
• 13:03
  - will run into people that you've worked with
• 13:04
  - in the past in the future,
• 13:06
  - and you wanna ensure that you can continue
• 13:09
  - to rely on them and continue to form
• 13:10
  - a friend if you have a have a
• 13:12
  - connection
• 13:12
  - or or have a question down the road.
• 13:15
  - The other thing that I think is really
• 13:16
  - important, it's
• 13:18
  - very easy to get trapped in your office
• 13:20
  - and stare at a computer and take care
• 13:21
  - of emails and telephone calls all day. It's
• 13:24
  - imperative for you as a as a newer
• 13:26
  - leader to
• 13:28
  - never lose that connection to the bedside.
• 13:31
  - Understand,
• 13:32
  - remember
• 13:34
  - your roots,
• 13:35
  - and understand how you can help support those
• 13:38
  - bedside clinicians to do the best they can
• 13:41
  - for their patients.
• 13:42
  - And and again to grow if that's what
• 13:44
  - they choose to grow, if if that's what
• 13:45
  - they choose to do.
• 13:47
  - Leadership
• 13:48
  - isn't about having all the answers. It's about
• 13:51
  - serving others,
• 13:52
  - building trust, and helping people succeed.
• 13:55
  - And
• 13:56
  - when you have
• 13:58
  - the strong foundation, the strong clinical foundation,
• 14:02
  - and you have those networking
• 14:04
  - connections that you've built over time,
• 14:07
  - that's how you succeed as a nursing leader.
• 14:10
  - I love it. Josh, thank you so much
• 14:12
  - for joining us on the podcast today. This
• 14:14
  - has been such a fun and inspiring
• 14:15
  - conversation, and we're really excited to,
• 14:19
  - learn more and then just keep this connection
• 14:21
  - and conversation going. So, thanks so much, and
• 14:23
  - look forward to connecting with you again soon.
• 14:26
  - I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks
• 14:27
  - for having me on the show. And I'm
• 14:29
  - sure we'll run into each other down the
• 14:31
  - road.