Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Marilyn A. Bowcutt, RN, MSN

2007; Elsevier BV; Volume: 5; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.mnl.2007.07.004

1541-4620

Carol Bradley,

Organizational Change and Leadership

What path led you to where you are today? I am blessed to have many individuals in my life and career who have mentored me along my 30 years in nursing. These individuals imparted certain values that have held me in good stead and formed my leadership. One of them is my mother, who is also a nurse. When I was growing up, I often saw people approach and thank her for being such a caring person. She always took time to help people and always was inspired to do more. She loved going to work, she loved her patients, and they shared the same values. At the end of the day, she was able to say, “I am proud of what we did.” She communicated with the language of love. I learned the meaning of values at an early age. My parents demonstrated the merits of truth, higher purpose, integrity, trust, and authenticity. I observed creativity, freedom, joy, grace, promise keeping, and love. I was always told to be all you can be and give to others through your work. Whatever you can do or dream, you can. Given that you have been a nursing leader for many decades, how do you feel the role has changed? The nurse leader is critically important to the success of any health care organization. The role is not just focused on nursing. This role is the business leader who not only deals with operational issues that occur every day but who also deal with a multitude of clinical and operational outcomes that affect the entire organization. Nurse leaders are relied upon to innovate, collaborate, have a strategic plan that is always in movement, and of course develop comprehensive plans to meet the global needs of the organization. The nurse leader is looked to as a trusted member of the team who is respected by all. Because of the affective leadership, she or he is trusted to involve the key stakeholders and understand the business and strategies necessary to make it happen—clearly the “can-do” person for the team. How do you create balance in your life as a leader? As nurse leaders, finding and demonstrating balance in our lives is necessary to foster the same behavior within the nurses we lead. It is my belief that, through role modeling, our staff will be able to find and maintain balance in their own lives and be able to provide the best possible care for our patients. Leaders must have balance in their lives. This does not mean simply being good at the many facets of our jobs. The first step is to decide where you are going in terms of your wellness goals. Most people need goals with specific objectives to reach these goals. Physical health is not always something an individual can control, but it is something that can be developed and maintained. As nurse leaders it is imperative that we remember to take care of our physical selves. Exercising, eating right, and getting enough sleep are only the beginning, but these are parts of our physical health that many of us abandon. We get too busy and do not have time for them. Early morning meetings and late nights, working on proposals, etc., keep us from taking care of our bodies. By taking care of our bodies, we will have more energy, which allows us to take better care of our nurses, and they in turn take better care of our patients. I also think it is important that nurse leaders maintain a personal/social life away from work. Often simply having friends with no vested interest (other than by virtue of being your friend) can help you work out problems or issues in your life that would otherwise fester and create problems at work. Besides, the adage that “all work and no play makes you a dull person” is true. Remembering to go out and enjoy a social life aids in spiritual balance. If one takes the time to relax and see the beauty in life, it reminds you what is of value. Reconnecting with those things that make our existence worth while is part of this process. Without renewing this connection, we may become lost in the daily grind and swerve off course, creating regret and remorse that will stay with us forever. If all of these aspects of our life are in balance, our emotional state is also more in balance. By staying centered spiritually, keeping our social life active, and maintaining our physical health, we can reduce the stress that we feel. Reducing stress allows us to see that life is good and gives us the ability to see the cup as half full rather than half empty. Once a nurse leader has found this emotional balance, he or she is better equipped to lead health care professionals into this millennium. My primary rule for having a happy life and finding the balance I need in leadership and life is to expect to find it. Are health care organizations using their nursing leadership to its fullest potential? Nurse leaders should be given more opportunity to lead the organizations. I believe nurse leaders could be more fully used by giving them time to focus on the future and use strategy to drive change and innovation. Nurse leaders are great collaborators and are trusted; by working together with interdisciplinary teams, we have the opportunity to push strategy deeper into the organization to ensure solutions that are innovative and practical. What do you most enjoy about your role as a nursing leader? Working with people to bring the new into existence. To create a vision that inspires people to do the best they can, to see them excited about where they are headed, and then to have the milestones met that are part of the roadmap that encourages people along the way and the joy and celebration of doing meaningful work. You have long been involved with the American Organization of Nurse Executives and recently served as its president in 2005. What role do professional nursing organizations play today and how important it is to the future of nursing and health care? All nursing organizations have authority and influence within their area of expertise. Through collaboration and focus, together we have the ability to influence significant change. Nursing united on all fronts has the ability to influence legislation and politics and consequently improve the health of our communities. I believe we can focus our energies together to improve the health care systems throughout the country. We can play a significant role in moving the future health care delivery systems. In a country that wants the best of everything, we fail to achieve the best for all in health. What must we do to meet the health and health care challenges of the future? We know chronic illness is on the rise—half of Americans have one or more chronic illnesses—and 80% of spending is linked to chronic illness, yet much of this is avoidable. There are many factors negatively influencing the attainment of health, each of which is on the rise: social environment, behavior, and the biological/physical environment. NameMarilyn A. BowcuttHometown:Casper, WyomingCurrent Job:Vice President of Patient Care Services, University Hospital, Augusta, GeorgiaEducation:University of Northern Colorado, bachelor's of science in nursingUniversity of Colorado, master's of science in nursing administrationFirst Job in Nursing:Staff nurse floating/rotating nights at St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver, ColoradoBeing in a leadership position gives me the opportunity to:Make a difference in the lives of those we serve—patients and nursesWhat most people don't know that I:Train dogs for obedience and protectionMy best advice to aspiring leaders:Surround yourself with great peopleOpportunities are often disguised as impossible situationsOne thing I want to learn:How to better maneuver in the political climate to influence a unified health care system that provides health for life and better health, better health careOne word to summarize me:Caring Name Marilyn A. Bowcutt Hometown: Casper, Wyoming Current Job: Vice President of Patient Care Services, University Hospital, Augusta, Georgia Education: University of Northern Colorado, bachelor's of science in nursing University of Colorado, master's of science in nursing administration First Job in Nursing: Staff nurse floating/rotating nights at St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver, Colorado Being in a leadership position gives me the opportunity to: Make a difference in the lives of those we serve—patients and nurses What most people don't know that I: Train dogs for obedience and protection My best advice to aspiring leaders: Surround yourself with great people Opportunities are often disguised as impossible situations One thing I want to learn: How to better maneuver in the political climate to influence a unified health care system that provides health for life and better health, better health care One word to summarize me: Caring America's health must improve. Without change, negative trends will overwhelm America's health care capabilities and finances. As a society we must reverse the trend of avoidable illness, achieve healthier behaviors, support individuals' personal health goals, provide education and prevention, and help all reach their highest potential for health. Everyone must take action. Nursing collectively can play a pivotal role. Change comes from leadership, and we can lead the way. To improve America's health everyone must lead, participate, and share the responsibility. The public trusts us, and we can influence necessary changes to improve health. In what ways does American nursing leadership influence the global nursing condition today? International nursing has grown substantially in the past 25 years, although once practiced only during wartime in crisis situations with a variety of populations or in peacetime in consultative roles. International nursing is now common, with direct practice, education, consultation, and research collaboration as the roles in which nurses work crosses borders. American nurse leaders are providing expert consultations for numerous countries. What is the most important work yet to be accomplished by our nation's nursing leaders? America's health care must improve. America has some of the best to offer in health care and quality. We have highly trained doctors, nurses, and other providers of care; the latest technology; well-equipped care facilities; choices of plans and care providers; greater focus on quality and patient safety but more can and must be done. People are dissatisfied with the health care system; 6 in 10 Americans rate the health care system as fair or poor. Health care costs are high; the highest costs per capita among industrial countries. We must have a vision for America's health. People must lead healthy, balanced lives, and a vision for America's health care must focus on efficiency, affordability, and quality. Everyone must have coverage, as well as access to care. What advice do you have for the new nurse graduate of 2007? According to Michael Landon, “Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.” Little did he realize, when he said this, that he would die so young. He was only 54 when he died of pancreatic cancer on July 1, 1991. Yet he had already become an accomplished actor, writer, director, and executive producer. He instinctively realized that procrastination is a malignant tumor that prevents us from reaching our full potential. That's why he was a person of action. Will we realize, as Michael Landon did, that our progress is blocked, not by what we want to do and can't, but by what we ought to do and don't? Those who choose action, choose life because life expresses itself through action. We can always choose between action and inaction. We can also choose between right and wrong, between doing good and feeling good. Experience teaches us that the less we do, the less we can do, and the more we do, the more we can do. The longer we remain inactive, the harder it becomes to crawl out of the quicksand of inertia. While right action will move us forward, wrong action will take us backward. In other words, inaction leads to paralysis, right action to progress, and wrong action to setbacks. Helen Keller refused to use her deafness and blindness as excuses for inaction. On the contrary, she said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” Keller understood that if we want to get ahead, we have to get started. Or as Robert Schuller said, “You will never win if you never begin.” Do you ever get any good ideas? Sure you do! We all do. There's no shortage of good ideas, but there is a shortage of follow-through. Many of us have brilliant ideas but fail to act on them. Ideas are impotent unless we breathe life into them. I challenge each of you to become involved. You have an opportunity to contribute to your profession. You do make a difference each day, and you can help us continue to improve. Action is our teacher, for we learn by doing. It is through action that we gain control over our destiny by shaping our future and creating our reason for being. Action changes us from a consumer of life to a contributor. Each act we take is another brushstroke on the canvas of our life. How else can we know ourselves but through our own actions? The power to act is the power to create; it is God's greatest gift to humanity. The universe is God's unfinished symphony, and our acts are the notes that are completing it. Since each call for action is an invitation to grow, let's respond with enthusiasm. After all, won't it be much better if we do all the things we ought to than spend the rest of our lives wishing we had? What is your wish for nursing's future? We are at what Malcolm Gladwell calls a tipping point. We recognize that nursing leadership must come together to design our future. We must collaborate with others. We need to build on the strength of many. Much work is being done in health care. By working together, we can design and achieve our desired future. Leaders in this new age of health care work in an environment of constant and multidimensional chaos. Such an environment offers tremendous opportunities for nurses to assume leadership roles. Group participation and facilitation is crucial because the primary work of health care is and will be performed by interdisciplinary teams, often with the nurse as leader. Concomitant with those skills will be the ability to network, negotiate, mediate, manage conflict, and assist patients in being the owners of their care. “Creating the Blueprint of the Future.” Actively constructing processes that promote safety for our patients has to be a part of this plan. The nurse is the caregiver who is with the patient 24/7. Nursing has the unique opportunity to be the advocate for the patient to assure that safe care is provided for each and every one. Nursing can and should be a powerful force to move the nation forward in developing a health care delivery system we all can be proud of. What will be your personal legacy to nursing? I will lead the way in designing our future state and deliver safe quality care that meets our patients' needs with the right number of appropriately educated nurses. This is being done through participation in demonstration projects like the clinical nurse leader implementation. I hope to be acknowledged as a leader in designing the new health care system that ensures health for life and better health care.