Abstract
Beth Ulrich, EdD, RN, FAAN, FACHE, FAONL, a professor at the Cizik School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, and editor-in-chief of the Nephrology Nursing Journal, was in the 2020 group of leaders who have earned the FAONL designation. She has occupied a number of roles since her first leadership position as director of a hospital-based dialysis unit. Her career has included executive positions in health care systems and health care–related organizations. She now teaches in an executive DNP program. Below, she shares some of her insights. Applications for AONL fellow designees are being accepted through August 31, 2020. For more information, visit aonl.org/fellow.
AONL: You have held positions in a number of settings, including those that did not involve providing care. Did any of the skills you developed in your first job as a nurse director carry over into your later positions?
BU: I was extremely fortunate in my first leadership position to have a boss who committed to teaching me management and leadership. He taught me everything from how to do a budget to when to tell your boss “no.” His teachings formed the basis of my whole career. I have thanked him many times for giving me that foundation, and I have tried to do the same for others.
AONL: How did your membership in AONL contribute to your development as a leader?
BU: I joined AONL (then AONE) in the mid-1980s at a critical time in my development as a nurse leader. AONL expanded my horizons and provided reality-based education and networking with colleagues during a time in which chief nursing officers were in transition. We had moved up from offices that were too frequently located in the basement into offices in the C-suite, but often without the opportunity to learn how to be executives and function as members of an executive team. AONL provided knowledge, expertise, encouragement, and access to a network of experienced nurse executives who helped guide me to success.
AONL: You were involved with several national studies of nurses, one of which was cosponsored by the AONE Institute of Patient Care Research and Evaluation. Did any findings create changes in the nursing environment?
BU: I’ve been studying nurse work environments for the last 20 years. The first study identified concrete issues and variables in the work environment. In subsequent studies, we have been able to contribute evidence identifying relationships and outcomes for both patients and nurses that are related to the health of nurse work environments and that form the basis for improvement. But I am concerned—the experiences and work environments created by the COVID-19 pandemic will challenge us in so many ways. We must continue our focus on work environments to ensure the health of nurses and patients in the future.
AONL: One of your contributions to nurse leadership has been in the area of developing supports for nurse transition to practice. What do new nurses need?
BU: New graduate RNs need safe, structured, and supportive environments in which to learn, and they need dedicated preceptors to teach and guide them in their transition from student to professional nurse. Indeed, I believe all nurses (and other health care professionals) who experience a transition in their level of practice or in a change in role or specialty deserve preceptors who teach/coach, lead/influence, facilitate, evaluate, and socialize the preceptee to the new role. These preceptors also should protect nurses new in their roles and role model professional behaviors. In addition, I believe preceptors need to be educated on how to precept and to be supported in that role.
AONL: You were president of the New Orleans AONE affiliate. What can nurse leaders gain by being involved at the affiliate level?
BU: Just as Florence Nightingale said that nurses should put patients in the best condition for healing to occur, aspiring nurse leaders should put themselves in the best position for career success to occur by seeking knowledge and experience, and then being ready when opportunities present themselves. The best place they can start to do that is at the local level where local nurse leaders are available to teach and mentor them. Then they can begin to understand the bigger picture of leading health care.
AONL: Why is it important for nurse leaders to give back to the profession?
BU: The most obvious answer is that, from the day we become nurses, we commit to improving the health of people and the health care system. That commitment never ends. But it is also about the need to ensure that future generations of nurses and the nursing profession itself continue to lead and advocate in an ever-changing world. We can do that best by sharing our knowledge and expertise, providing support and mentoring, and helping clear the path for the leaders of tomorrow.
Biography
Terese Thrall is managing editor at AONL in Chicago, Illinois. She can be reached at tthrall@aha.org.