Your Path to Leadership

One of the biggest challenges I had to overcome as a new CNO was meeting the demands of customers, including physicians and patients, while staying true to my nursing background and not overcommitting or straining my nursing staff. The best example of this is collaborating with physician partners to develop or expand upon existing service lines. As a hospital executive, I have a responsibility to satisfy the wants and needs of the physicians, but I also have an obligation to ensure that those wants and needs align with nursing scope of practice and that my nursing staff has the tools, resources, training and education to meet those needs.

Hospitals can be more successful in these areas if they invest time and resources in interdisciplinary training, education and team-building. This allows the various disciplines to gain knowledge and respect for the other disciplines’ daily roles, duties and responsibilities so they can work together effectively.

Patricia S. Matos, RN, DNP, NEA-BC

Chief Nursing Officer
Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital (UCLA Health)

It took some time and good mentoring for me to realize that as CNO, I cannot confine myself only to my area. Since UCLA Health is a large health system, the CNOs must collaborate with many other departments to reach operational and patient care goals. Sometimes, I have felt out of my element working with other specialties and departments, but I soon realized that when you are a nurse interacting with other nurses, there is always common ground.

Our professional governance councils help nurses address this issue by bringing together nurses from many areas and departments to improve patient care through evidence-based practice. These councils have produced a number of publications as well as professional conference posters and podium sessions. This collaboration instills a common sense of pride and competence, helping individual nurses feel validated and more confident working outside of their comfort zone.

Denise Robinson, RN, DNP, MPH, WOCN

(pictured above)
Chief Nursing Officer
Loma Linda University Medical Center

Prior to becoming a CNO, I often traveled abroad to promote educational programs as a subject matter expert. One adjustment I’ve had to make in my current role has been cutting back on travel and spending as much time as possible within the walls of the hospitals I’m working alongside. I think this is a logical transition as we take on more responsibility; we have to let go of some things.

Gloria Sanchez-Rico, RN, BSN, MBA, NEA-BC

Chief Nursing Officer / Senior Vice President
Huntington Hospital

I have a responsibility to our nurses to create an environment that provides professional satisfaction, from offering educational programs to enhance and grow nurs­es’ skill sets to nurturing our hospital’s positive, just cul­ture. When I look at how our nurses care for our patients and what truly motivates them, I take their individual, cultural and generational differences into consideration. This approach can be a balancing act and a great challenge, but it has played a large role in my path to leadership.

Lauren Spilsbury, RN, MSN

Vice President, Patient Care Services
Redlands Community Hospital

A significant challenge for a CNO is reporting events to the hospital’s board of directors. As a clinician, I am used to speaking to others who understand medicine and healthcare. The board of directors consists primarily of community members. They are intelligent people who are experts in their respective fields, but they do not necessarily have a background in healthcare. This means that board members are reliant on precise information from the CNO to understand the clinical context of an issue. I always present information in clear, non-technical ways and include a healthcare glossary in each board packet.

My previous CEO taught me an important strategy: When you provide information to your board, communicate the problem and your solution at the same time. As C-suite executives, our job is to solve problems, which means we should never present a problem without also providing an appropriate solution.

For more from the CNO Roundtable:

2020: The Year of the Nurse and the Midwife

Lifelong Learning

Nurses in the Media

Staffing Challenges and the Silver Wave

CNO Reading List

New Grads at the Bedside

Exciting Innovations

The COVID-19 Pandemic

Chief Nursing Officer Roundtable 2020 (homepage)

In this Article: CNO Roundtable, CNO Roundtable 2020