What’s it like to work as a nurse at Ballad Health?
As part of our celebration of National Nurses Week, leaders from Ballad Health decided to find out first-hand.
Nearly 70 members of executive and senior leadership visited 17 facilities on Wednesday as part of Walk a Mile with a Nurse, shadowing selected nurses for four hours as they went about their frontline work. This eye-opening experience allowed the leaders to view the daily provision of patient care and workflow responsibilities of nursing while showing their appreciation to our frontline team members.
“It was a reminder of the honorable work nurses do every day,” said Tom Tull, VP, chief experience officer, who spent time at Holston Valley Medical Center. “The nurse I shadowed, Hannah, did an incredible job showing me what she goes through. The teamwork displayed was exemplary in taking care of patients and each other. It was a joy to watch them take care of their patients.”
Tony Keck, executive vice president for system innovation and chief population health officer, was on 6200-6300 at Johnson City Medical Center and said the experience made quite an impression on him.
“My day with Dariane, the nurse I followed, couldn’t have been more impactful to me,” he said. “We didn’t stand still for a minute – except when waiting for screens to load on Soarian. She communicated with real skill to a range of trauma patients, and their families, about what she was doing at each step, and I could see how much they appreciated it.
“What I came away with from the day was how much we are asking of our nurses and how we need to focus each day on how to best support them.”
Lisa Smithgall, chief nursing officer for Ballad Health, was the lead organizer of the exercise, and she also participated by spending time with nurses at Russell County Hospital. She said the feedback from both nurses and executives across the system was extremely positive.
“There was an overwhelming sense of appreciation from both sides,” she said. “The nurses really appreciated the executives taking this time to spend with them, and the leaders certainly appreciated the nurses and got a better idea of the work they do and the challenges they face.”
The exercise presented opportunities to improve processes and solve problems as well as build relationships and foster a better understanding of what others do across Ballad Health.
“This was an opportunity to connect with folks in the organization we might never otherwise encounter, and to better understand their role,” Tull said. “And as leaders, it’s important to remember that at the end of every decision we make is a patient and his or her family. Spending time with our nurses gave us a chance to witness that in action and see the end result of those decisions.”
Susan Oler, RN, associate clinical leader from the D5 at the Holston Valley intensive care unit, was one of the nurses who participated. The leader accompanying her was Alan Levine, Ballad Health’s president and CEO.
“It was a very positive experience,” she said. “I think they saw a different side to what we face, and it was good to see a different side of them, as well. With some of our challenges we’ve had, it’s heartwarming to see Mr. Levine and our leaders so passionate about this.”
Smithgall said she will get input from everyone who participated – both nurses and leaders – and there are plans to do the Walk a Mile with a Nurse annually.
