What Are You Most Proud Of?

I was recently asked in an interview what I was most proud of in my career. It was the final question of the interview and it caught me off guard. The previous questions had all been related to continuous quality improvement, coaching style, and scenario-based management questions.

I have never been asked a question like this in an interview before. I suddenly felt vulnerable but I forged ahead because, honestly, what did I have to lose?

There are two things that I outlined that I am most proud of in my career.

Firstly, I outlined why the IDEAS project focusing on hyperacute stroke care made me proud. The project was timely because, from a data perspective, the Emergency Department (ED) was not meeting critical benchmarks in identifying, assessing, and treating patients who present to the ED with stroke-like symptoms. Evidence shows that “rapid assessment, diagnosis, and decision-making could have a significant impact on mortality and long-term recovery and quality of life” (Boulander et.al., 2018). Using the Canadian stroke-based practice guidelines (2018), key stakeholders were approached and input was received on how we could improve processes in order to address the issues and achieve better results. The key to the success of this initiative was involving the right people who shared a vision and goal to provide timely and better quality of care to this patient population. By improving processes we were able to decrease the time it took for patients to receive lifesaving medication from an average of 80 minutes to 53 minutes. This made me incredibly proud that we were able to advocate on behalf of patients and potentially improve outcomes.

"Stroke is the third leading cause of death in Canada and a leading cause of disability. Each year, more than 13 000 Canadians die from stroke. More than 400 000 Canadians live with long-term disability from stroke and this will almost double in the next 20 years."

- Heart and Stroke Foundation

Secondly, I outlined that I was proud of the work that I started as a Clinical Educator with mentoring new graduate nurses entering the workforce. For a majority of these nurses, this was their first job out of nursing school. Studies have shown that new graduate nurses face a number of pressures in their first year in the workforce. Ebrahimi, Hassankhani, Negarandeh, Gillespie & Azizi (2016) suggests that “newly graduated nurses often have little trust in their own capabilities and experience, a lack of confidence manifesting in behaviors such as doubtfulness about their level of performance, ethical distress and fear, and inability to appropriately communicate to other nurses, physicians, and patients.” Compound these pressures with competing priorities, patient complexities, and dwindling resources, new graduate nurses need support and mentorship during this transition. If new graduate nurses do not feel supported within this transition period it has been shown to have a considerable impact on their future career decisions (Parker, Giles, Lantry & McMillan, 2012). It was important to me that I was part of their support system and offered guidance as they started their careers. These were amazing nurses and I wanted to see them feel successful, accomplished, and proud at the end of the day.

"It's always the small pieces that make the big picture"

- Unknown

There are many other things that I am proud of throughout my career but these are the two experiences that are at the forefront of my mind. Nursing is a rewarding career and it has taken me a while to see where I am the most valuable. Advocacy and mentoring are the two areas of healthcare that are important to me. Advocating for high quality, evidence-based patient care, and ensuring the next generation is equipped to deal with the changes that the healthcare world is facing is where I feel the most impactful within our healthcare system.

References

Boulander, J.M. et. al. (2018). Canadian stroke best practice recommendations for acute stroke management: Prehospital, emergency department, and acute inpatient stroke care. International Journal of Stroke, 13(9), 949-984. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747493018786616

Ebrahimi, H., Hassankhani, H., Negarandeh, R., Gillespie, M., & Azizi, A. (2016). Emotional support for new graduated nurses in clinical setting: A qualitative study. Journal of Caring Sciences, 5(1), 11-21. https://doi.org/10.15171/jcs.2016.002

Parker, V., Giles, M., Lantry, G., & McMillan, M. (2012). New graduate nurses' experiences in their first year of practice. Nurse Education Today, 34(1), 150-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2012.07.003