When a new nurse enters the industry, they are often punished by senior staff for gaps in their knowledge and experience, yet no one on the senior staff is willing to take the time to teach them. This pushes those new nurses out, leaving the industry overwhelmed and understaffed. Why aren’t we willing to meet people where they are? Why are we expecting students or nurses to bring their “A” Game when they are brand new to the field and (oftentimes) to the organization? And how do we move them from where they are to where we want them to be?

When I was a DON, there was a nurse working alongside me who was also an immigrant. I realized that any day there was an admission, she would call out. It became apparent to me that she was having trouble handling the assessments and tasks associated with admission. I took it upon myself to sit down with her and complete one admission together. From there, I took the opportunity to continue to closely mentor her. Recently, she called me to say thank you. She has since moved to Virginia, and I was delighted to hear that she has carried my lessons with her. She’s even training others on how to do admissions! I was able to empower her and give her confidence, which I will continue to do, especially for those who are minorities and immigrants.

After pursuing my Ph.D. I accepted a role as a Director of Nursing (DON) at a Skilled Nursing Facility. Within my first week, there was a resident-to-resident altercation which resulted in the passing of the victim. During the investigation, a case of negligence was made against two of my nurses. Both nurses’ licenses were on the line.

I realized that this incident could have been avoided if the nurses had been adequately trained and prepared as I began to train them on my own. The issues were systemic. There was no regard for safety or high-quality care. The system set the nurses up to fail.

These issues only got worse during the coronavirus pandemic. I wanted to act, so I wrote the training manual Navigating Long-Term Care: A Practical Approach for Nurses and Navigating Long-Term Care: A Reflective Workbook.

During my time as a DON, I also realized that the lack of comprehensive orientation and onboarding was a principal cause of high turnover in nursing homes. My latest book, “The Talent Retention Code,” sought to provide solutions to nurse turnover using a community integration approach. I wrote it as fiction, in an easy-to-follow story format, but based it on my own journey and the positive, sustainable changes I was able to implement in my workplace. This was just the beginning of my journey to give back to the healthcare industry. I was reaching just one person at a time. By developing my mobile app and speaking, I now push for positive change in nursing on a larger scale. I continue to use and teach my research-based model of community integration with the hope of transforming industry care quality and employee satisfaction.