Scrub In

The pandemic changed many aspects of working life, from accelerating remote work to pushing many into retirement. One of the most impacted professions – nursing – is now evaluating the most efficient ways to provide care with fewer nurses and an emphasis on retaining those who remain. Crystal talks with Dr. Mary-Michael Brown, vice president of Nursing Practice Innovation at MedStar Health, about changes that hold promise for nurses and their patients.

Today’s headlines about finding – and retaining – great talent mean a lot of challenges for anyone recruiting and hiring now. MedStar Health Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Loretta Walker, talks with Crystal about how talent acquisition has changed, why putting people first makes MedStar Health stand out, and why celebrating the mission of working in health care resonates.

The number of job openings for Advanced Practice Providers – physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, midwives, certified nurse specialists – is expected to grow 30% in the next few years and is increasingly seen as a critical piece of the dynamic health care environment. In Part II of their conversation, Crystal and physician assistant Maria Leber and nurse practitioners Kiersten Henry and Surya Chacko explore some of the history of advanced practice providers, how the careers are evolving, and what the future may hold for these important health care providers.

They have some of the fastest growing job categories in health care, yet there are still myths and misconceptions surrounding Advanced Practice Providers – the Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, and Certified Nurse Specialists who provide patient care in almost every health care setting. For the second annual National APP Week (September 26-30, 2022), Crystal speaks with three APPs and breaks down the roles they have in patient care, the education and training needed for their career, and how the APP field is growing.

Looking to jump start your life with a new, valuable career? For many who want a change, nursing is their second career choice – and there are lots of ways to jump in. Crystal speaks with Sierra  Fisher and Irving Resurreccion, two relatively new nurses who decided to enter nursing after spending more than a decade in other careers. With more than 26% of second career nurses over 40 years of age, it’s never too late – and the rewards, according to these two, are many, including flexibility, never being bored and a lot of opportunity. For more information on a MedStar Health scholarship program for second degree nurses through George Washington University in the District of Columbia, see https://nursing.gwu.edu/washington-squared-program.

Throughout the pandemic, clinicians and others in healthcare began more open discussions about “moral distress” – a key stressor for those involved in delivering patient care and other first responders. So what is it? And how do you manage it? Crystal interviews Amanda Bush, MS, RN, a nurse with a background in Neonatal Intensive Care and a Masters degree in ethics, who specializes in helping clinicians deal with moral distress at MedStar Health’s Center for Wellbeing, and Lucia Wocial, PHD, RN, FAAN, HEC-C, a nurse and internationally renowned senior clinical ethicist with the John J. Lynch, MD, Center for Ethics at MedStar Health. They help define moral distress, talk about how to recognize it and how to manage it…and discuss why it’s important to continue the conversation about moral distress in health care.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-TALK [8255]) has answered more than 12 million calls since 2005, and now they’re making it even easier for anyone who needs to reach them. As of July 16, a new three-digit phone number – 988 – connects those who need help with the national network that provides 24/7 crisis care. Crystal talks with Shye Louis, the director of clinical practices at the Lifeline, about making it easier to talk about suicide prevention, the network of 200 crisis centers that participate in the Lifeline, and the fact that anyone can call if they need advice about what to do for a loved one, a colleague or a patient in mental or emotional distress. The lifeline can also be reached by texting home to 741741.

For so many reasons – the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing health care needs of an aging population, the shortage of clinicians and acute care space – home health care is on a fast and furious trend upward. Crystal talks with three long-time home health nurses who like that they operate at the top of their skills to bring all kinds of care to patients, how the pandemic accelerated the growing need for their services, and the benefits of connecting with patients “at the couchside.”

In this special episode just for Nurses Week 2022, Crystal makes her way across the MedStar Health system asking nurses to tell her about their proudest moments. The difficulty for almost all RNs: picking just one moment! Celebrate Nurses Week with these tales…and send your own proudest moment in clinical care to [email protected].  Stories will be aired in future episodes. Happy Nurses Week!

As Nurses Week approaches, there is a lot of attention on the nation’s 4 million nurses and what the future holds for a profession that’s spent more than two years at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Crystal talks with MedStar Health Chief Nursing Officer Susan Eckert, who took over leadership of the system’s more than 8,000 nurses just six months before the pandemic started. Hear her perspective on what the global crisis changed , why nursing continues to be a highly desired career, and how she supports – and thanks – nurses everywhere.