2018 TONE Annual Conference - RN Superheroes in Scrubs

<i>By Gretchen Hunt, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, NEA-BC</i>

Every February, the TONE Annual Conference meets in Dallas Texas. Nurse Executives and emerging nurse leaders from all aspects of healthcare and academics come together to network, gain wisdom from the field and further advance the profession of nursing. The planning group for this event is TONE’s Education Committee.  Once again, this team pulled together excellent speakers. We heard varied stories exemplifying nurse superheroes during personal tragedy or mass casualty events. We learned ways to reduce workplace bullying, strategies to deescalate and/or respond to workplace violence, ideas on how to connect with the community to engage the future workforce, an update on the Texas Board of Nursing, and finally self-care and enhancing resilience to reduce personal frustration and burn out.  Below are a few highlights from this information filled day.

The opening speaker was a young man who in his early 20s suffered a life-changing neck injury. When he awoke from surgery, his first encounter with his surgeon was a disappointing conversation lacking compassion and empathy. The surgeon provided this patient zero glimmer of hope and proceeded to provide a nonchalant laundry list of things this young man would never do again. The speaker shared how he vividly remembers the cold way this message was delivered. He shares his personal patient story across the country providing an example of ways to “not’ deliver the message. He also shares an inspiring story of a male nurse who he developed a great relationship with and how something as simple as having your hair washed can humanize the patient experience. His stories, often intertwined with a great sense of humor, described struggle and overcoming physical disabilities that are now a permanent part of life.  He reminded us that we must find a way to sustain a culture of compassion while delivering care.

As our emotions settled from that individual patient experience, we moved into discussions around incivility and bullying in the workplace. Led by Moderator Dr. Cynthia Clark, a group of panelists discussed signs of bullying and shared researched-based negative outcomes that occur in unit cultures where this behavior is allowed to continue. A panel of nurses who had been the recipient of workplace incivility bravely shared their stories.  For some, the emotional toll and pain was so significant that they left bedside nursing. Tips to create a healthy culture included encouraging departments or units to write a civility creed and holding each other accountable in stopping these behaviors. 

 After we finished discussing internal forces that can disrupt care, we moved to external forces that can impact the healthcare setting. Last year, Texas was hit hard by a hurricane that dumped record setting rainfall. This led to flooding in neighborhoods and hospitals. Two Nurse Leaders from hospitals that were in flooded areas shared stories of finding ways to meet decreasing resources including food, water, clothing and linens. They shared strategies on finding space to rest, sleep, bathe and finally the importance of taking care of your staff’s emotional needs. Bringing in family members who had lost homes, providing shelter for family pets and keeping the lines of communication open assisted them through the stressful time. Both leaders acknowledged the importance of recognizing the emotional short- and long-term toll on the staff and the ongoing need to respond with Employee Assistance Programs or onsite counselors. 

During this same session, a CNO from a hospital in Las Vegas shared the story of how her hospital responded to caring for multiple victims after a mass casualty shooting.  She shared how early communication systems failed, caused confusion and inadvertently led to patients being diverted to only their hospital. As the evening progressed, the hospital quickly ran out of supplies and through networking with other facilities they were able to share employee, physician and equipment resources. This CNO happened to be out of state, and her cell service worked when others in the local area failed due to system overload. She served as a middle man to coordinate resources. She stressed one important lesson learned, which was the need to have multiple communication options during a disaster. She also stressed the importance of ongoing emotional recovery for the first responders, the hospital team and the community.

Above are some exceptional stories of superheroes in scrubs. We all witness the work of superheroes every day. To all superheroes in scrubs, thank you for your dedication and commitment!

Look forward to seeing you at the TONE conference next year.