Fast Facts for Making the Most of Your Career in Nursing by Rhoda R. Redulla

Author:Rhoda R. Redulla [Rhoda R. Redulla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780826173157
Publisher: Springer Publishing Company
Published: 2020-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

SUCCESS STORY

Jason Gilbert, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC

Executive Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive, Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Indiana

Jason Gilbert shares his nursing experience and highlights his mentor–mentee moments. Dr. Gilbert is an excellent example of working one’s way to the top!

Provide highlights of your professional nursing journey. What are key things that helped you succeed to achieve your professional goals?

I started my career as a staff nurse on an oncology unit. Even as a new nurse, I gravitated toward informal leadership roles. Within the first year I precepted many students and learned the charge nurse role. I participated in unit committees and was usually the first to volunteer to learn a new care protocol or care for a new patient population. I had a great group of mentors in my first role that were interested in my development and a great manager who encouraged and empowered me to get involved.

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I loved the work that I did and then met and fell in love with my wife, who is also a nurse. Shortly after getting married, we decided to become travel nurses. We worked in several different states and many different health systems. Although we originally did travel nursing for the fun and variety of living in different places, it was incredibly enriching professionally. I experienced a variety of settings, had more exposure to diverse populations, and learned the differences in working for academic, urban, community, for-profit, and not-for profit hospitals. I learned a great deal from experiencing different organizational structures and leadership styles. I learned the areas in which I most liked providing care.

After traveling for several years, we returned to Ohio and worked on a cardiothoracic surgical unit. I was approached by the manager (who became my next great mentor) about considering a career in leadership because of the qualities she saw in my interactions with patients and staff. I took an assistant nurse manager position and grew to love the leadership role. After a year I progressed to a nurse manager position and loved the role. After becoming a manager, I met with the chief nursing officer (CNO), who became a great mentor and encouraged me to get involved in organizational initiatives and encouraged me to go back to school to complete my master’s degree. I completed my MBA while working as a manager and found that my leadership abilities were greatly enhanced by the application of what I had learned. While I was completing my MBA, the CNO left the organization for another opportunity but remained a close mentor. After graduation, the same CNO recruited me to a director-level role at a different hospital.

While in the director role, the CNO again encouraged me to return to school. I completed my PhD in 2017. The PhD journey was extremely rich, and I was able to learn to think differently about systems of care and engaging in research and better enculturation of an evidence-based practice (EBP) framework. Shortly after I completed my doctoral work, the CNO left for another opportunity, and I assumed the CNO role at my current organization.

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