Stories of Florence Nightingale’s compassion, bravery, and leadership have shaped modern nursing and influenced and inspired millions. As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of her birth, we are honored to shine a light on today’s #NurseHeroes on the front lines by sharing some of their stories.
This is Glenice’s story.
“It’s the front line staff that have the best insight and I feel it is my job to support them.”
Describe why you chose to become a nurse
For as long as I can remember, I always enjoyed helping others no matter what the task was. I became a nurse because I wanted to be able to help others when they were in need the most, to be able to bring a little sunshine, hope and encouragement to them during their darkest, most challenging and sometimes scary days. I cannot think of another profession that is as rewarding and impactful, yet hard, as nursing.
Describe your most rewarding day on the job
It’s hard to pick just one. I find it most rewarding and exciting when I am able to work with staff, conducting deep dives, supporting staff ideas to fruition to implement changes to improve patient care, quality, workflows, and/or reducing waste. It’s the front line staff that have the best insight and I feel it is my job to support them, to ensure they have what they need to do a great job, and to encourage them to think outside the box and to be creative. It is most rewarding to me when my staff express they feel successful.
Describe your most challenging day on job
On days where there is an overwhelming amount of discharges, transfers, and/or admissions and seeing staff physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, yet continuing to provide great care to our patients. Or being told we are moving our unit AGAIN (about 6 times in 7 weeks)! It can be challenging to help them keep their focus on and realize the great work that they are doing and to keep their spirits up
Do you have any nurse hacks or lessons learned in the field you would like to share with others?
Nurses are MacGyver’s! Too many hacks to list.
What’s a favorite quote of yours?
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail” – Ralph Waldo Emerson I also live by the quote by an unknown author – “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best”
Anything else you’d like to share?
Never expect anything of your staff that you would not expect of yourself. And most importantly, always keep the patient at the center of all you do.
Thank you for all you do, Glenice!
Glenice’s Nomination
During all of this chaos and uncertainty, front line caregivers have been nominated and acknowledged for many awards in many ways. Everyone tends to think of the nurse at the bedside. Our floor has been the designated covid unit throughout all of this. We have moved our clean patients to multiple floors, many times. Our staff has been responsible for staffing four different units at any given time. We make a new plan, settle in, and then are asked to make more changes. Glenice has been our backbone though all of this. She has executed all of the plans set to help us succeed and takes the best care for our patients. She has advocated (understatement of the decade) for us. She has empathized with us, cried for and with us. Spent her nights at home making signs for the unit to keep our spirits up. She is in scrubs every single day, at the bedside, doing whatever needs to be done to ensure the tasks of leadership are happening and that she is not asking too much of her staff. Though she has been working literally 24/7, none of this is about her, it is all about us and what she can do for us… And that speaks volumes. She has truly bent over backwards to take the burden off of her staff and that deserves a spotlight nomination. Without her I don’t know what we would be doing or how we would be successful.
Elliot Health Hospital
Thank you for helping us honor Glenice and the profession of nursing, Mary. We salute you!
Do you have a story to share?
While our team at ShiftWizard believes all nurses are heroes, we’d like to hear who you feel has gone above and beyond. Help us honor a fellow nurse or nurse leader whose actions have inspired others in these unprecedented times, and let’s celebrate nursing together!
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These are incredibly challenging times for nurses as well as the organizations they serve, and there’s no better time to learn how ShiftWizard can deliver significant cost savings and best prepare your team for success. One client saved over two million dollars in overtime costs within the first eight months with ShiftWizard.
Our industry-leading workforce management solution is quick to implement and was developed by nurses— it is built specifically for healthcare and solves the complexities of scheduling staff for any department within a hospital. And, especially for times like these, our powerful communication center excels at getting messages (text, email, and automated calls) to staff securely and quickly, maximizing accountability and teamwork.
We are honored to support our frontline teams and we are here to help you meet your challenges head on.
Send your nurse story to us at info@shiftwizard.com or let us know how we can help you.
