Crystal Beckford is an accomplished healthcare executive with extensive experience in health systems in Maryland and Florida. She has a proven track record in hospital, health plan, long-term care, and health insurance leadership.
In her current role as chief nursing officer (CNO) and vice president of patient care services at Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center (LHDCMC), Beckford collaborates with the clinical team, medical staff, and executive team to develop nursing and clinical strategies that promote quality and operational excellence in clinical operations.
The series highlights healthcare leaders who are prominent figures in their organizations and are making transformational impacts in nursing.
Meet Crystal Beckford, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care for Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center.
Talk about your role in nursing.
As the CNO and Vice President of Patient Care for Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center, I provide leadership to our nursing and patient care support team members. I provide coaching, direction, support, and leadership to grow current and future leaders. To be an effective CNO, one of my main objectives is to ensure clear and concise communication with team members to remain focused on our goals and outcomes. Most important, I always remind our teams why we’re here—to provide high-quality, safe patient care.
How long have you worked in the nursing field?
I have worked in the nursing field for 32 years. I started my career as a licensed practice nurse for two years and then earned my BSN, RN. To expand my knowledge in health care, I received my master’s in healthcare administration.
Why did you become a nurse?
Since I was about seven years old, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. There were many influential people in my life growing up, and three of them were nurses, whom I admired for their character and work ethic.
What are the most important attributes of today’s nursing leaders?
Flexibility, balance, resilience, humor, humility, passion, and understanding.
What does being a nursing leader mean to you, and what are you most proud of?
Inspiring and influencing others to achieve their greatest potential is truly an honor.
Tell us about your career path and how you ascended to that role.
My first year of nursing was in the medical surgical unit. While at Catholic University, the nuns told us we must complete at least one year of Med/Surg. I quickly learned it wasn’t for me. Critical care was my life’s calling. I was captivated by the equipment, the technology, and the nurses’ knowledge. I practiced in just about every space in critical care, including the intensive care unit, cardiac care unit, open heart surgery, emergency department, and respiratory care unit. I quickly developed strong acumen, knowledge, and skills in critical care. My colleagues saw my potential as a great leader and encouraged me to apply for a managerial role. Once I landed the position, I kept pushing myself to grow in leadership roles because of my passion for the business and the clinical side of healthcare.
I chose Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center to make a difference in my home community. Healthcare equity is a major passion and concern of mine. The hospital has embarked on a $300 million campaign to renovate and expand the nearly 50-year-old campus, including building a women’s health center for inpatient obstetrics services, labor and delivery, and postpartum care. Right now, eight out of ten women have to deliver their baby outside of Prince George’s County, and the area’s maternal mortality rate for Black women is 50 percent higher than the national average. As a nursing leader, my mission is to collectively address health inequities, improve health outcomes, and make meaningful changes within our organization and the community.
What is the most significant challenge facing nursing today?
The most significant challenge facing nursing today is getting more young people interested in this career. In my role at Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center, I’ve made it my mission to speak, teach, coach, and mentor at area nursing schools, historically black colleges and universities, community colleges, and high schools. We offer internship opportunities for students that may lead to future employment. Since approximately 70 percent of our employees (including myself) live within Prince George’s County, we are focused on growing and maintaining our own diverse workforce. One of the reasons I enjoy working here is I’ve felt welcomed the moment I walked through these doors. It has a small southern town feel in a larger community, even though we’re outside Washington, D.C.
As a nursing leader, how are you working to overcome this challenge?
See above. My greatest support is not my words but my actions. I fully support a work-life balance by encouraging my team to take paid time off and offering various types of shifts that fit any lifestyle.
What nursing leader inspires you the most and why?
My former CNO has been my mentor and a source of inspiration for more than 20 years. She is now a COO for a start-up corporation but remains inspirational by being herself. She is smart, wise, humble, and demonstrates humility. She has always been a wonderful person and leader.
What inspirational message would you like to share with the next generation of nurses?
Nothing worth doing is easy. Don’t make five minutes of a bad situation your narrative for the day or your entire career. Instead, focus on the positive and good experiences we have as healthcare workers.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Nursing will always give you more than what you bargained for. Regardless of my title, I am and always will be a nurse.
Robin Geiger, DNP, MSN, APRN, NP-C, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, is an accomplished, results-driven, board-certified nurse executive with over 20 years of hands-on clinical leadership experience. Dr. Geiger’s professional focus is on health equity and clinician advocacy, aiming to increase resilience for healthcare providers, improve quality care and create solid support systems through the ACT (Advocacy. Career. Tools) program for all clinicians within the Ingenovis Health brands.
With a long-standing history of assembling impactful and forward-thinking teams emphasizing improving healthcare quality and increasing patient safety, Dr. Geiger’s vast experience includes accreditation and developing policies to support foundational programs through assessment and data analysis.
She previously served as associate dean of academic affairs for the National University School of Health Professions and focused on strategic planning, clinical program development, and academic operations.
The series highlights healthcare leaders who are prominent figures in their organizations and are making transformational impacts in nursing.
Meet Dr. Robin Geiger, Senior Vice President of Clinician Advocacy of Ingenovis Health.
Talk about your role in nursing.
As senior vice president of clinician advocacy for Ingenovis Health, I’m pleased to lead our ACT program focused on clinician well-being, resilience, and support. I hold board certification as a nurse executive advanced (NEA-BC) and chair our Chief Nurse Advisory Board, an interdisciplinary advisory group focused on creating solutions for current frontline clinician challenges.
I support the nursing community as much as possible. I serve as an editor-in-chief for a medical publishing company, focusing on nurse practitioner certification and nursing ethics. I also remain current in clinical experience as a board-certified family nurse practitioner (FNP) and co-founder of an NP-owned concierge practice in North Florida.
How long have you worked in the nursing field?
I’m surprised to say that I have been working in this field for more than 23 years!
Why did you become a nurse?
My interest in nursing peaked at an early age. I would hear stories about my grandmother, who was a nurse midwife; stories of how she helped others heal; and the need that would always exist for people to receive healthcare. I would stare at her nursing picture in which she wore a white dress and cap. She was my earliest influence in nursing, someone who looked like me and that I could relate to.
I started with an initial goal of becoming a certified nursing assistant (CNA). I wanted to handle the most humble and respectful connection of bedside care. I immediately loved it! Being there for some nursing home patients with little-to-no family and supporting them to accomplish daily tasks was important to me. I knew I could grow in nursing and pushed myself to do more.
What are the most important attributes of today’s nursing leaders?
Today’s key attributes for nurse leaders should incorporate an empathetic, resourceful, and advocacy approach. Considering the social climate when engaging new and existing nurses is important. External factors to keep in the forefront include mental health and bandwidth, which stem from work-life balance, something I like to refer to as a “work-life blend” when assigning and delivering care. Being supportive means including flexible options for staffing that align with a nurse’s history, respect for years of service, and include physical, social, and emotional support.
What does being a nursing leader mean to you, and what are you most proud of?
Being a nurse leader means factoring in previous personal experiences of my own and those around me. An excellent example would be the formation of Ingenovis Health’s interdisciplinary Chief Nurse Advisory Board (CNAB). Solid decisions involve a multi-disciplinary approach to healthcare strategy and design. Multi-disciplinary teams provide a more global lens of how decisions impact all, from the social worker to the clinician and all the people that serve the patient.
I am proud to give back to the community by co-founding a concierge health clinic for the under-served population, creating MSN and DNP programs that consider the working nurse, and developing a clinician well-being program to encourage improved work-life blend and foster resilience – the ACT program.
Tell us about your career path and how you ascended to that role.
I’ve touched almost every area of nursing through lived experience, either as faculty, clinician, or leader. My life in nursing began first as an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse, followed by staffing various ICUs, ER, and OR at a level-one trauma hospital. I became a family nurse practitioner in multiple areas, including as an RN first assist in plastics, orthopedics, and general surgery. I have always mentored nurses along the way, and opportunities to serve as lead faculty, director, and associate dean in academia provided me ample opportunity to do so. I received my most impactful leadership training at the Veterans Health Administration. My career has included national leadership roles as VP of clinical care at a non-profit organization and later as Co-Owner/ CEO of a concierge clinic. My current role as senior vice president of clinician advocacy for Ingenovis Health allows me to combine my previous experience to support all clinicians – I enjoy what I do!
What is the most significant challenge facing nursing today?
Recognizing the importance of self-care is always challenging for nurses. I’m also guilty of this from time to time. Nurses are natural givers, and we often neglect the importance of reflecting on challenges, trauma, and the losses we experience. We provide our best care when we reflect on our experiences and learn from them. Covid was challenging, but we didn’t experience initial trauma and burnout with the pandemic. Nurses are strong – we have constantly been challenged. I’m glad we are now focusing on better health for the nurse, something we have needed for quite some time.
As a nursing leader, how are you working to overcome this challenge?
I’m working daily to be an example of incorporating self-care and eliminating stress. Ingenovis Health supports the ability to grow support and enhance the lives of frontline clinicians through the ACT program. I’m proud to lead this program, focused on providing a voice of advocacy, career pathing/ support, and tools to foster better mental and physical health. I think of the program as ongoing conditioning and strengthening to ensure our clinicians are prepared to lend their best selves to caring in various areas within healthcare.
What nursing leader inspires you the most and why?
Dr. Hollier is one of the many nursing leaders that inspires me. I found her certification guidelines and manuals amazingly insightful and well-written from a practical point of view. She inspires my entrepreneurial spirit to create better ways of accomplishing milestones and mentoring others to greatness.
What inspirational message would you like to share with the next generation of nurses?
We are all capable of more. You’ll receive a new challenge when you think you’re comfortable and have it figured out. Grow from each challenge by adding it to your toolbox. You’ll soon have a nice box of tools/ experiences to reach for and share with other nurses.
Allowing yourself to grow through mentorship will open ideas and create life-long connections you didn’t know you needed. Participate in shared governance and nursing associations to strengthen the profession and lend your voice and support.
Finally, consider that one day we will all become patients. You are influencing the future care for your family and yourself. Thinking this way is powerful; this forward-thinking always leads to positive and motivating actions.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
There’s a personal quote I often use, “Everything revolves around the need to receive and deliver education.” This doesn’t apply to academia as it might seem but to life in general. Nurses are life-long learners. We don’t teach emotional and social learning in every education program, but to continue shaping this profession, we must learn how and when to share our stories to inspire others.
Blake Lynch, aka Nurse Blake, loves caring for and helping patients and caring for and helping fellow nurses. As a popular nursing influencer, internationally touring comedian, healthcare advocate, and keynote speaker, Nurse Blake uses humor to bring nurses together.
Working in trauma centers around the country, Nurse Blake started posting original comedy videos aimed at his profession to cope with the stress of his nursing job. His lighthearted videos connect with nurses, nursing students, and healthcare workers worldwide, and he entertains almost 4M followers on social media while lifting healthcare workers across the globe.
But Nurse Blake is about more than comedy.
He always wanted to be a nurse and started working in healthcare as a patient transporter at age 17 and graduated with a BSN in 2014 from UCF in Orlando, Florida.
Advocacy has always been a part of Nurse Blake’s life. During nursing school, he was the President of the Florida Nursing Student Association, and in 2013 he started Banned4Life, to end the permanent FDA gay blood ban, which ultimately contributed to the lifetime ban being lifted in 2015.
Now Nurse Blake uses his online content and comedy shows to advocate for underpaid healthcare workers.
He’s also the creator of NurseCon at Sea, one of the largest and most popular nursing conferences, and the NurseCon App, which provides free continuing nursing education courses, and author of the #1 best-selling children’s book “I Want To Be A Nurse When I Grow Up” just like the nurse from his favorite TV medical drama. Blake learns that it won’t be easy, but if he puts his mind to it, he can become a great nurse.
The series highlights healthcare leaders who are prominent figures in their organizations and are making transformational impacts in nursing.
Meet Nurse Blake, a nurse, creator, internationally touring comedian, healthcare advocate, and keynote speaker.
How long have you worked in the nursing field?
I’ve been a nurse for nine years now. I stepped away in early spring 2021.
Why did you become a nurse?
I knew a hot hospice nurse caring for my grandfather, and I’m like, he’s a hot nurse. I want to be a hot nurse. (Nurse Blake jokes).
My dad’s a respiratory therapist. He’s worked on the night shift for over 30 years. So growing up, he would tell me the coolest stories about him caring for others. So I think that’s what inspired me. I haven’t considered any other profession. I was in the healthcare academy in high school. When I graduated that summer, I was doing prereqs. So it was a no-brainer for me.
Do you miss being a bedside nurse and getting more content for your shows?
Yes. To some extent, people may call me crazy, but I miss the camaraderie of working in that team environment and patient interactions.
I stay up-to-date with all the evidence-based stuff and what’s going on. I get a lot of feedback from nurses who watch my videos, and we get their stories and stuff. Based on my time as a nurse, I have stories for years and years to come because so much can happen in a 12-hour shift, right? Like so many stories and things that can happen in 12 hours, I’ve had that experience multiplied by a few years, so I have endless content.
What are the most important attributes of today’s nursing leaders?
Equality and inclusiveness. Nursing leaders ensure their staff and their patients are safe. Many leaders care about making the higher-ups happy or just looking at a certain number instead of really caring. It’s truly caring about the patients and their staff. I tell nursing leaders that you should treat your staff the same way you want your staff to treat patients. The lack of bedside staff nurses in those leadership roles is the problem. That’s the huge disconnect.
What does being a nursing leader mean to you, and what are you most proud of?
It would be NurseCon at Sea, the nursing conference I have on a cruise ship. Seeing the nurses have their best life and feel so safe and just let loose to have nursing students who are 20 dancing on the dance floor in crazy costumes with a 70-year-old retired nurse. That’s what makes NurseCon at Sea so special. And that’s what makes me the most proud.
What is it like to watch NurseCon at Sea grow to become one of the largest nursing conferences?
It’s cool to see that community grow and thrive. I provide the ship. We have education, but the participants make NurseCon at Sea feel and vibe that it is.
What is the most significant challenge facing nursing today?
Staffing, staffing, staffing is the number one issue and affects nurses and patients at the end of the day. But it makes me so happy to see nurses going on strike. And record numbers like they are. Big hospital system striking like they haven’t seen it in decades. It’s inspiring to see nurses coming together over that.
As a nursing leader, how are you working to overcome this challenge?
It’s just giving them a venue and a community to let loose to forget about the stresses of their job. I tell nurses all the time you’re not going to be perfect. You’re not going to get it all done within 12 hours. You’re not going to do it. Just try to be the best nurse you can be. Do your best for your patients, knowing you won’t accomplish it all.
What nursing leader inspires you the most and why?
It was one of my professors. It was Professor Angela Renton. She was one of my professors in health assessment. I remember how she made me feel to this day. She would start every class and come in and say hello, future nurses. And just by saying hello, future nurses made us realize we will get through it. And that one day, we’re going to be nurses, and that she sees as not being lower than her. We’re all in this learning process together on a learning journey. So she’s someone I think about all the time. She made me feel just so warm and so safe with her. I try to take that energy and feeling into my show and NurseCon at Sea. How do I make people feel? How does the show make people feel? How do the people on this cruise feel?
What do nurses tell you after seeing one of your comedy shows?
I’ve been following them with a hidden camera because we all go through the same thing. They’re not alone. Some nurses say I considered leaving the profession because I’m so stressed out, and they just really needed this night. What’s so cool about my shows is nurses come in party buses. So they come in groups of like 30 and 40. They make t-shirts and posters, and the energy is unbelievable and wild. And again, even at my shows, you got the younger and more experienced nurses of all ages and backgrounds coming together. And that is just, like, so cool. So I think it’s just relatability. I’m telling my stories, how they happened in my life and my years as a nurse, and seeing what others went through is my most common feedback. Like we’re all missing a bladder scanner. Like we’ve all had the patient that’s pulled their flexi seal out.
What inspirational message would you like to share with the next generation of nurses?
Know you have a voice. If there’s ever something you’re passionate about and want to change, do it because if you don’t, who will?
Nursing is a second career for Derek J. Flores, RN, CHPN, BS, a hospice nurse in Colorado since 2012.
In 2020 Flores was a featured guest on the TV Show, The Doctors, sharing his expertise on end-of-life hospice care. He’s also written two books to increase knowledge of end-of-life care. Flores’ first book, Seven Keys to a Peaceful Passing, walks patients and families through common challenges and decisions they must make during their hospice journey. His second book, Letter to a Hospice Nurse, celebrates the lives of hospice patients and gives a format for surviving family and friends to process grief.
Flores has a Spanish mother and Mexican father and credits his background, education, and experiences for helping him connect with his patients to provide good outcomes.
The series highlights healthcare leaders who are prominent figures in their organizations and are making transformational impacts in nursing.
Meet Derek Flores, RN, CHPN, BS, and hospice nurse in Colorado.
Talk about your role in nursing.
I’m a hospice nurse case manager in the Denver Metro area. I work with a varying census of patients facing a terminal diagnosis. Besides regularly visiting my patients, I coordinate care between other disciplines, including CNAs, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers. Our team serves a widely diverse community of beautiful people from various backgrounds. Many of my patient visits can be considered ‘routine,’ others unexpectedly are filled with urgency to treat symptoms at the end of life. I work in the world of the ‘dying.’ It is a place and space where the dignity of each person is cherished and celebrated.
How long have you worked in the nursing field?
I earned my LPN in 2011, then passed the NCLEX-RN in 2012 after graduating from Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Nursing is a second career for me. I graduated from Colorado State University in 1991 with a BS in business administration. I spent a dozen years working in various industries in marketing and sales departments. I even had my own business for a few years.
Why did you become a nurse?
The seeds for me becoming a hospice nurse were sewn while observing both of my parents care for their aging, then dying parents. The love and compassion I saw from them was an inspiration. My mother, whose name is Crisela, has family roots in Spain. The Archuleta family arrived in Mexico in the 17th Century, then migrated to northern New Mexico, where they were farmers and ranchers. My mother’s first language was Spanish. She worked as an elementary school teacher in Pueblo, Colorado for many years before retiring. My earliest memories are of my mom and grandma speaking Spanish in the kitchen while the smells of a delicious dinner were in the air. The love, devotion, and endurance she showed in the care of her parents moved my heart. My mother and her siblings cared for Grandma Rita and Grandpa Ambrosio for fifteen years before Grandma passed peacefully at the age of 103.
My dad’s family was from southern Texas and Mexico. My late father, Jim, worked as a teacher specializing in special education. He was also a former Green Beret, champion runner, and weight lifter. He showed compassion for his students and the tenderness he had in the care of his parents at the end of their life. My parents were the first generation to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees, breaking down societal barriers during my formative years in the 1970s and 80s. Their example set a standard for pursuing higher education and service to others.
I began the journey to become a nurse during a difficult period of my life as I turned 40 years old. During this time, I began to work as a CNA. My experience as a CNA helped form me into a well-rounded nurse. I learned how to provide basic care to my patients, who often lived in difficult conditions. After watching some of my supervising nurses do their work, I realized, ‘I can do that’! The next thing I knew, I was in nursing school. My family’s example of hard work and never giving up helped me make a career change.
What are the most important attributes of today’s nursing leaders?
In the hospice environment of today, a nursing leader has many hats to wear. In nursing school, we are taught to become multitaskers. As a hospice nurse case manager, I lead my interdisciplinary team by being responsive and communicative. If someone asks me a question, I respond as quickly as possible. I like surprising people with very quick responses. This level of communication sets a ‘Nursing Leader’ apart.
A hospice organization is multi-faceted with clinical, administrative, and management pieces. The clinical part of my work is also just as important because our patients depend on us to manage symptoms in often very stressful situations. When this happens, everyone looks to us for good nursing judgment, a cool head, and a soft heart.
What does being a nursing leader mean to you, and what are you most proud of?
I have been and will probably always be a bedside hospice nurse because my personality makeup doesn’t do well behind a desk or in the same location all day. I work out of my car, driving to each patient’s location. I lead my hospice team as a case manager by being attentive to my patients and team. My hope is they are inspired and motivated by my actions.
I’m most grateful for recognizing that nursing is a vocation I have been called to do. It’s rare that I don’t feel I have contributed to someone going through the most difficult time in their life. I’m most proud that I live out the legacy of my parents, Jim and Cris. Their example of serving others drives me each day. I’ve always wanted them to be proud of me.
Tell us about your career path and how you ascended to that role.
I’ve alternated throughout my career in hospice between case management and on-call roles with both for-profit and not-for-profit companies. The caseloads in some hospices can exceed twenty patients, so my career path has been marked by individual experiences with patients in difficult situations and measured by how I assisted them to be free of the symptom or symptoms they were struggling with.
Hospice nursing can be very emotionally trying, so I have taken sabbaticals by working in pediatric home health. I found that medically challenged children bring joy to everyone around them. They have helped heal my heart when I needed it most, preparing me to return to hospice nursing to do the work I’m called to do.
What is the most significant challenge facing nursing today?
My nursing work must be completed within a limited amount of time. There isn’t any wiggle room for this, so I can’t even list this as a challenge. It simply has to get done, no matter what. I never have a day like the previous one, so planning every moment of my week is almost impossible. I always have to try and stay ahead of the next patient emergency or death by pushing to get tasks done in the moment. I know if I don’t get something done now, it might not get done at all.
My family is most important to me. I am recently married at 54 to a wonderful woman, Kirsten. After many years alone, I now have a wonderful and kind companion. We enjoy our life together, including time with three adult daughters, one lovely granddaughter, and another who is making her debut in a few months. Our hearts are full.
I share my professional challenge of having enough time to meet all my work and personal responsibilities because it is common for hospice nurses to quit after their job takes over their lives. It’s not uncommon to work a full day, kiss your loved one as you arrive home, then head to your home office to work another few hours before you go to bed. It’s super easy to have hospice take over your life. Quite often, hospice nurses are paid on salary, so at some point, you may decide you’re working for a much-reduced rate than you thought you were. Then you choose to leave. The result is that patients get shortchanged by nurses who are rushed to get everything in their day completed. I encourage hospice nurses struggling with situations like this to ask their manager for adjustments. Caseloads can be lightened, geographic work areas can be shrunk to decrease time driving each day, and changes can be made if a manager wants to keep a nurse. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you have difficulty getting everything done.
In the end, if nurses and their managers don’t find solutions, the result can often be rushed nursing visits or nurses who aren’t fully present to their patients because they multitask. Our patients aren’t aware of all of the demands of our positions. They want to share what is happening with themselves on that particular day – needing us to meet their needs.
As a nursing leader, how are you working to overcome this challenge?
I try to put my patients first by being present to them. If I were to fail them by supporting them with my full attention, then not much else matters. I think my efficiency and proficiency in this role have improved over time. I also get up very early in the morning when I have work to do so I don’t take time away from my family.
I also have a mission outside of my bedside nursing practice. I write and publish books to increase knowledge of end-of-life care. My first book is Seven Keys to a Peaceful Passing and my second is Letter to a Hospice Nurse. I’ve also created journals that nurses and families can use to communicate with each other and keep track of important tasks like medication administration.
What nursing leader inspires you the most and why?
I had a colleague named Ted in the first years of my nursing career. I identified with him in several ways. He looked a lot like my dad with his black wavy hair and chocolate brown skin and had a similar background. Seeing another person like me, with Spanish and Indigenous roots, gave me the strength to look outward to solve our patients’ challenges. Ted is one of the most knowledgeable hospice nurses I’ve known. I still use his recommendation to help patients suffering from chronic nausea.
What inspirational message would you like to share with the next generation of nurses?
I’d encourage anyone considering a career in nursing to look deep and find the one thing that fills their heart. If it is helping those in need, you’ll never have a day in nursing where you don’t take away a feeling of satisfaction for your hard work. If you are a young nurse struggling to get traction in your career, please reach out to an experienced nurse to find a solution to your challenges. I’d also suggest that once you have a few years of successful experience, you realize you are a hot commodity. Don’t be afraid to ask for a competitive wage or salary. Negotiate the time off from work you need for your family and yourself. You are in high demand!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Nursing should be a vocation for everyone who chooses to do this work. By finding the intersection of your heart and mind, you’ll never work a day. Instead, you will have a life filled with purpose, struggle, and satisfaction for the benefit of others. You’ll have a life that matters.
Aneesah Coates, BSN, RN, is an experienced psychiatric mental health nurse with nearly ten years of experience in acute care, long-term care, and home health care. She is the owner of aneesahcoates.com and is passionate about helping nurses, current and aspiring, learn more about the profession.
Coates works at a mental health crisis center as a senior professional evaluation nurse, preceptor to new nurses, Nursing Journal Club facilitator, and nursing department trainer for new staff. She’ll graduate with her doctorate in nursing practice as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in December 2023.
The series highlights healthcare leaders who are prominent figures in their organizations and are making transformational impacts in nursing.
Meet Aneesah Coates, BSN, RN, and senior professional evaluation nurse.
Talk about your role in nursing.
I wear several hats in my current nursing role. I am a senior professional evaluation nurse at a local mental health crisis center. We’re part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, specifically under the Western Psychiatric Hospital umbrella, a national leader in diagnosing, managing, and treating mental health and addictive disorders. And we are located in an urban community setting, so we get consumers with various needs and diagnoses.
My duties include triaging consumers coming into the center, conducting intake assessments, making referrals to the appropriate level of care, and working with local pharmacies to ensure that our consumers can access the medications they need. I also serve as a resource for other nurses and clinicians in the facility, providing mentorship and guidance to new staff members and helping with problem-solving when necessary.
More formally, I am trained as a preceptor to new nurses, so I help lead nursing orientation and provide ongoing support during the onboarding process. As the trainer for the nursing department, I give presentations to new staff from all disciplines, providing them with an overview of the nurse’s role within the team. My goal is to ensure everyone who works here understands our role as nurses and how we fit into the team’s overall approach to helping our consumers.
Lastly, I serve as the Journal Club facilitator for the nursing department. I started this initiative by creating a presentation to refresh us on defining key research terms and levels of evidence. Every month, I select a journal article relevant to our work, conduct an article critique, and provide the group with a summary of the main findings. I also provide them with a blank copy of our research critique form and encourage them to reply to the initial email to share their thoughts to foster discussion. Each of my roles has this common thread of support for consumers and staff alike and empowering everyone in the process.
How long have you worked in the nursing field?
This year marks a decade as a nurse for me.
Why did you become a nurse?
Becoming a nurse was a natural progression for me. Seeing my dad in the hospital greatly impacted me as a child, and I was continually inspired by the nurses who cared for him. Despite being in and out of the hospital, my dad was involved in my education and invested a lot in my early education. He nurtured my curiosity and encouraged me to keep learning. My mother’s hard work ethic was also an influence on me.
Between their encouragement and my growing interest in healthcare, nursing seemed the perfect fit. I was drawn to all aspects of the profession and wanted to make a difference with my work. That desire has only grown since then, and I’m continually driven to learn more and improve my practice.
What are the most important attributes of today’s nursing leaders?
A great attribute for today’s nursing leaders is being able to role model the behaviors and attitudes they’d like to see in their staff. Nursing leaders should be able to demonstrate qualities such as professionalism, accountability, and integrity. It’s also important that nursing leaders are problem-solvers and innovators, ready to take on challenges and come up with creative solutions for their teams. Nursing leaders should strive to be lifelong learners and stay current on best practices and evidence-based research to improve care.
Many attributes that contribute to successful nursing leadership can be learned and developed over time. So if an aspiring leader still needs to possess the desired qualities, they can acquire them through professional development opportunities such as certifications and continuing education. Mentorship and networking can also be great resources for learning and developing these skills.
What does being a nursing leader mean to you, and what are you most proud of?
Being a nursing leader means taking an active role in helping shape healthcare’s future. It’s about understanding how my work can impact the lives of my patients, their families, and our community. It’s about being an advocate for all those I serve and working to ensure that everyone has equal access to healthcare. It’s also about empowering my colleagues, mentoring them, and encouraging them to reach their potential as healthcare professionals. And this can all be done no matter what level of nursing leadership you are in.
I take my leadership role very seriously. I am continuing my education to obtain my doctorate in nursing practice (DNP) to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP). I plan to graduate this December and am excited about the opportunities this degree will bring. I am also excited about the work I have done to create aneesahcoates.com, a website devoted to helping students and new and seasoned nurses navigate the world of nursing by providing access to resources and insights on a variety of topics.
Tell us about your career path and how you ascended to that role.
My career path in healthcare began 20 years ago as a dietary aide in a hospital cafeteria. My nursing career started sometime after that when I decided to attend a local community college and obtain my associate’s degree in nursing science. From there, I went to the California University of Pennsylvania for my bachelor’s degree in nursing. And three years ago, I entered Robert Morris University’s BSN-DNP program to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. As a nurse, I have worked in an acute care setting caring for lung transplant patients. I have also worked in skilled nursing, home health care, long-term care, and psychiatric mental health care.
What is the most significant challenge facing nursing today?
The most significant challenge facing nursing today is the shortage of nurses (source). The nursing shortage results from multiple factors, including low enrollment in nursing programs, a lack of nursing school faculty, and a significant segment of the nursing workforce nearing retirement age. Not to mention how the pandemic has put an even more tremendous strain on the nursing profession. And the shortage is likely to have several downstream effects, including a strain on staffing ratios, leaving nurses overworked and stressed out, which can lead to nurse burnout. This can negatively impact patient outcomes and the quality of patient care. To address this, we need to focus on initiatives such as recruitment and retention programs and professional development opportunities that focus on building leadership skills. We should also continue to invest in incentives such as tuition reimbursement and scholarships to encourage more people to enter and stay in the profession.
These initiatives can create a pathway for nurses to move up the ladder, which not only increases retention but also helps to foster an environment of strong leadership among nurses. I don’t want to minimize the challenge the nursing shortage presents. It’s a complex issue that requires innovative solutions and collaboration between multiple stakeholders.
As a nursing leader, how are you working to overcome this challenge?
I am working to overcome this challenge by engaging in various initiatives and activities to help recruit, retain, and mentor nurses. I am doing this through my website, which provides essential nursing resources to students and new nurses looking to enter the profession. My current professional role allows me to precept students and new nurses, allowing me to share my passion and excitement for the profession. I make it a point to express how nursing is a dynamic profession that can be whatever we make it. In the future, I plan to use the knowledge I have gained through my DNP program to contribute to initiatives and programs that will empower nurses through education and advocacy.
I am interested in health economics and policy, so we’ll see what opportunities open up.
What nursing leader inspires you the most and why?
Nurse Alice Benjamin inspires me. She does so much that you can’t help but be inspired by her. Nurse Alice has achieved so much in her career and is passionate about helping others do the same. She is a leader who uses her platform to promote health and wellness while advocating for nurses and patients. Nurse Alice is a force of positivity, and her passion for nursing is contagious. She’s an author, TV medical contributor, ambassador for the American Heart Association, Chief Nursing Officer at Nurse.org, and the list goes on. Her work goes beyond the traditional boundaries of nursing leadership, and she is an excellent example of how nurses can impact healthcare through direct patient care and advocacy.
What inspirational message would you like to share with the next generation of nurses?
My inspirational message to the next generation of nurses is this: the sky is truly the limit. You can make a real difference in healthcare and positively impact the lives of those who need it most. Believe in your professional abilities, stay true to your values, and don’t be afraid to push the boundaries of being a great nurse.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I want to remind readers that we all have the power to make a difference in the healthcare field and that each of us has unique skills and talents that we can use to help others. No matter what role you play in healthcare or how much experience you have, your contribution matters. So stay motivated, focus on the task at hand, and always remember why you decided to pursue a career in healthcare in the first place.
Cara Lunsford is the VP of Community at Nurse.com, fostering a community where nurses can find peer support, allies, professional opportunities, resources, and education. She’s also the host of Nurse.com’s NurseDot Podcast and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, highlighting a variety of voices within the nursing industry while also speaking to her personal experiences as an RN and founder of HOLLIBLU, a social networking app exclusively for nurses (acquired by Nurse.com in 2022).
The series highlights healthcare leaders who are prominent figures in their organizations and are making transformational impacts in nursing.
Meet Cara Lunsford, RN, CPHON, VP of Community at Nurse.com.
Talk about your role in nursing.
Beginning my career in pediatric oncology, I witnessed firsthand the effects such a stressful job can have on a nurse. I observed my peers experience burnout and abuse on a daily basis. I heard their stories of adversity, trauma, and hope and joy. With my fellow nurses at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), we started the first Supportive Care Committee to ensure nurses had an environment available to help cope with job stress. However, there remained a greater need for resources like this committee at every hospital and nurses throughout healthcare sectors to improve retention and recruiting.
Realizing there was a broader need for a safe and supportive community and the potential technology had to solve this issue, I had the idea to found HOLLIBLU, the first social media network for nurses. The app was designed to provide peer support, professional advice, and connections with other nurses. In 2022, HOLLIBLU was acquired by Nurse.com, where I was brought on as vice presidentof community to oversee the Nurse.com app platform.
To continue amplifying voices within the nursing community, we launched the NurseDot Podcast late last year. I sit down with my nursing peers to discuss their stories, industry trends, and professional growth advice.
How long have you worked in the nursing field?
I have been in nursing for over 15 years, working in the acute setting as a pediatric oncology, home health, and home infusion nurse. Throughout the past five years, I have used my clinical knowledge as a registered nurse (RN) to take on an entrepreneurial role delivering technology solutions to my fellow nurses to help with everyday challenges. Most recently, I have been using my voice and platform in the nursing space to elevate other nurses, fostering a supportive community for nurses of all specialties and settings.
Why did you become a nurse?
I started my career as a nurse in pediatric oncology back in 2008 at CHLA. Before that, I worked as an American Sign Language interpreter at Cal State Northridge, where I discovered my interest in oncology. For two consecutive semesters, I interpreted the Biology of Cancer class, and as I was listening and interpreting, I became more interested in oncology and the nursing profession in general. Ultimately, I was so intrigued that I was motivated to embark on a career in nursing. From there, I went to Los Angeles County College of Nursing and Allied Health, where I received an Associate of Science degree and became an RN.
What are the most important attributes of today’s nursing leaders?
Successful nurses and nursing leaders are empathetic, drawing from personal experiences and truly listening to others from different backgrounds. Having navigated the healthcare system as a queer family put me in the patient’s shoes rather than the clinician’s, with which I was very familiar. My wife and I had a child with two HIV+ gay men, and we all continue to co-parent together. To have our son, we had to meet with multiple IVF clinics and experienced professionals who were either unfamiliar with our family situation or had stigmas around HIV and LGBTQIA+ healthcare issues. I understand what it is like to be rejected from care because of the stigma around your sexuality and hurtful preconceived notions. As a queer nurse, it’s important for me to share my experiences with patients and fellow nurses to create a better care environment for everyone and foster the best possible results for all patients, regardless of background.
With this experience as a patient, I can relate to the struggles my patients are going through. Similarly, as a nursing leader, I understand the struggles of my peers. This knowledge allowed me to create an app to best support nurses and care for their needs. To care for patients you do not know, sometimes nurses must put their own mental health and personal life on the back burner, requiring nurses to be extremely caring and understanding. While this means caring for patients of all backgrounds, it also means putting yourself in their shoes.
What does being a nursing leader mean to you, and what are you most proud of?
It’s important to acknowledge that nurse leadership brings a tremendous amount of responsibility. Nurses have faced unprecedented challenges in the past few years, resulting in a staffing crisis. The solutions nurses seek will require that people across healthcare get aligned on the reasons behind this crisis. Nurse leaders are being called to use their voices and platforms to ensure these messages reach the decision-makers within this industry. I had spent most of my career being the squeaky wheel, speaking up even when it was unpopular. I have taken huge personal and professional risks to create a safe space for nurses and bring awareness to their challenges. But with risk came great reward. Nurse.com believed in my mission and vision. In March 2022, they acquired my company, brought our small but mighty team into the Nurse.com family, and are helping us to continue our mission of providing a vibrant community where nurses thrive.
Tell us about your career path and how you ascended to that role.
After years of nursing and founding HOLLIBLU, I was drawn to Nurse.com given its 30+ year legacy. The biggest thing that pushed me to collaborate with the company was its mission, which completely aligned with mine. Nurse.com aims to improve the lives of the most vulnerable members of society and those who care for them. As a nurse, this resonated with me deeply. It is a company I wanted to associate myself with and help build toward this mission by including the app I was so passionate about creating.
What is the most significant challenge facing nursing today?
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the broader public became abruptly aware of nurses’ important role in the healthcare system and their daily challenges. In this post-pandemic world, with severe nursing shortages putting increased pressure on healthcare staff, nurse burnout, and professional stress are incredibly high, not to mention the grief and trauma that comes from caring for patients.
As a nursing leader, how are you working to overcome this challenge?
Nurses need resources and support to equip them with the skills to deliver better care. The last few years have proven that nursing is one of our society’s most demanding and crucial jobs, so we must do something about it. It is vital to provide nurses with adequate resources and a supportive community to deal with burnout and improve their mental health. Nurses need accessible and effective training to help them advance in their careers and targeted job postings to help them find the best roles that fit their interests and experience. At Nurse.com, we put nurses’ needs first, providing them with a community of peers, reading materials, continuing education courses, and the ability to take control of their career paths.
What nursing leader inspires you the most and why?
A few nurse leaders come to mind, but I would start with Rebecca Love. Rebecca has been working to empower and elevate the nurse profession, whether it’s through grassroots initiatives, like founding the non-profit SONSIEL (Society of Nurse Scientists, Innovators, Educators, and Leaders) or giving TedTalks about how nurses can drive healthcare innovation. Most recently, Rebecca has set her sights on a significant issue, the insurance reimbursement of nursing services. The Commission for Nurse Reimbursement explores the history of how the rates of nursing services were once set by the nurses themselves and how changes made over 100 years ago has resulted in nurses now being a cost instead of a benefit to hospitals. I just interviewed her on the NurseDot Podcast, and you can listen to that episode here.
What inspirational message would you like to share with the next generation of nurses?
Nursing is a marathon and not a sprint. If you want to work in this profession for decades, it is important to prioritize your personal needs, practice professional boundaries, and know when to say “no” or “not right now.” Remember that you are human first. Practicing awareness will help you identify when it’s time to make a change, so don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone and try something new.
