Caring Greatly™ Podcast

Rhonda Collins, RN, DNP, FAAN, is the chief nursing officer at Vocera Communications. Dr. Collins cares passionately about the well-being of nurses and the nursing profession and believes that technology can improve nursing work by removing unnecessary cognitive burden from workflows. Her doctoral and professional work focuses on how to use clinical communication tools to ensure that nurses can provide the best possible coordinated clinical care to patients without the avoidable stress of chasing down care team members and information.

In this episode, Dr. Collins and I talk about how responses to the COVID-19 crisis put stress on nurses in a way that will have long-term implications for individuals and the profession. We delve into the challenges that arise when seasoned professionals must shift from situations in which they can draw on ingrained expertise to ones in which they are relatively inexperienced – in other words, moving from novice to expert and back. We look at the ways nurse leaders can apply technologies and process improvements to minimize the cognitive burden on nurses, allowing them to limit stress and achieve professional well-being. Finally, Dr. Collins outlines a new study she is launching that uses the NASA Task Load Index to gauge the burden of clinical communication on nurses in high-stress environments with the aim of driving improvements across the industry.

Links Related to Dr. Collins’s Podcast

• 2021 CNO Report: Protect the Nurse, Protect the Practice
• Share your story of a Healthcare Hero
• Nursing Times article: Reducing Cognitive Load on Nursing Staff

Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, is an emergency physician based in Rhode Island. She is the founder of Get Us PPE, a not-for-profit focused on sourcing and distributing personal protective equipment to those who need it most. Dr. Ranney is also a co-developer of the MyCOVIDRisk app, a tool that allows users to assess the risks of different activities in their specific geography, following the public health premise that blanket injunctions are not nearly as effective as personalized risk management strategies. She is the co-creator of the Pandemic Problem Solving course with Ashish Jha, MD, MPH. Dr. Ranney is also an advocate for treating gun violence as a public health crisis, a passion she has pursued since before the pandemic.

In this episode, Dr. Ranney and I talk about what it takes to tackle seemingly intractable problems in healthcare. We talk about the art of building grass-roots coalitions, and the role of leadership in creating environments in which innovation can prosper. We close with a look at the lessons from the pandemic that Dr. Ranney hopes we will carry forward into a post-pandemic world.

Links Related to Dr. Ranney’s Podcast

• Get Us PPE website (including donation link)
• AFFIRM (American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine) website
• Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health

Janet Smith-Hill, RN, MSN, SPHR, is the chief human resources officer at SSM Health, a Catholic, not-for-profit health system serving communities across the Midwest. In her role as CHRO, Ms. Smith-Hill is responsible for talent acquisition, management, and retention, compensation, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as talent systems and culture. As a Certified Professional Coach, Ms. Smith-Hill brings a growth mindset to her work supporting team member engagement and well-being.

But, like many executives – and especially those with clinical backgrounds – Ms. Smith-Hill also plays the role of family caregiver. During the pandemic, two of Ms. Smith-Hill’s family members were hospitalized, requiring support from family members who were restricted in their ability to visit and provide direct support.

In this episode, Ms. Smith-Hill and I discuss the challenges of providing support to loved ones receiving care during the pandemic. We talk about the importance of strong communication, and the emotional impact of feeling disconnected. Finally, we look ahead to how family support will evolve as the pandemic subsides.

Links Related to Ms. Smith-Hill’s Podcast

• STAT: Even during a pandemic, hospitals must make family visits and communication the standard of care
• KHN: For Each Critically Ill COVID Patient, a Family Is Suffering, Too
• Yale Medicine: Doctors Care for Family Members, Too, When Patients Are in ICU
• AMA Journal of Ethics: Patient- and Family-Centered Care: It’s Not Just for Pediatrics Anymore
• Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care: Changing Hospital “Visiting” Policies

Farrah-Amoy Fullerton, MD, is a fourth-year medical student who just matched to a pediatric residency. When she was a child, Dr. Fullerton and her family emigrated from Jamaica to the United States, settling in Huntsville, Alabama. Knowing she wanted to become a doctor, Dr. Fullerton attended Mary Baldwin University in Virginia with a double major and minor in biology & biomedical sciences and physics & chemistry. While training in medicine at University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Fullerton has been a leader in the student-led Anti-Racism Movement, and she launched a podcast focused on issues of racial justice. She is also one of the founders of #MedGradWishList, a Twitter-based movement in which under-represented minority medical students publish lists of things they need as they move into residency so that donors can support them as they pursue the next steps of their medical education.

In this episode, Dr. Fullerton and I discuss her experience as a woman of color and foreign-born student as she has pursued her medical education. We examine issues of structural racism she has encountered and look at the importance of speaking up. Finally, we delve into the origins of #MedGradWishList and the vulnerability – and power – of asking for help.

Links Related to Dr. Fullerton’s Podcast

• About Dr. Fullerton’s Laid Black podcast
• Access episodes of the Laid Black podcast

In this episode of the Caring Greatly™ Podcast, Ms. Grosklags and Dr. Maples share insights into how to have difficult conversations with patients, and why these skills of compassion, presence, listening, and partnering with patients are essential to driving positive outcomes for clinicians and patients alike at all points of the care journey. We look at the ways leaders are using Ms. Grosklags’s film to teach team members critical communication and connection skills, and how these skills are reinforced and made part of the cultural fabric by systemic training approaches like that led by Dr. Maples at the IHE. Finally, we examine why leaders should embrace these approaches now, as team members grapple with the challenges and fallout of the pandemic.

Links Related to Ms. Grosklags’s and Dr. Maples’s Podcast

• Conversations with Kelly
• Dying is Not Giving Up
• Facebook community for Conversations with Kelly
• The Institute for Healthcare Excellence’s Relations¨ For Healthcare Transformation
• About IHE’s Relations¨ work

Duane Elliott Reynolds, MHA, is founder and CEO of Just Health Collective, a healthcare consulting and digital engagement platform serving professionals and organizations interested in accelerating belonging in health. Just Health Collective works with healthcare organizations to shift culture and leadership toward an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion, in service of achieving outcomes that minimize health disparities.

In this episode, Mr. Reynolds and I discuss the ways that an internal culture of belonging helps to promote equitable health outcomes. We look at ways that leaders can help create structures of accountability for health equity and belonging, and at the role of technology in helping to proactively identify opportunities to improve equity and belonging both inside and outside the organization. We close with thoughts on how both formal and informal leaders can build a culture in which team members and patients alike can thrive.

Links Related to Mr. Reynolds’s Podcast

• The Just Health Collective website
• Just Health Collective on Medium (requires a Medium account)
• Just Health Collective Village
• Centering Health Equity Podcast

Justin Bright, MD, CPXP, is an emergency room physician and assistant medical director of Patient Experience at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. Emergency rooms and ICUs have been the frontline of COVID-19 triage and treatment, and Detroit was one of the U.S.’s hotspots in the spring of 2020.

In this episode, Dr. Bright and I talk about the emotional journey that frontline care team members have experienced as they went from fear and uncertainty to reckoning with injustice, through a brief respite in the summer to a rising national caseload through the fall and the holidays. We look at the ways that team members have supported one another individually and across organizations, and we look ahead to a future built on safety and trust that cares for team members and patients alike as whole humans.

Links Related to Dr. Bright’s Podcast

• Dr. Bright’s blog, The PtExp MD

Alex Drane is co-founder and CEO of Archangels, a platform and movement designed to bring visibility and support to people who play the role of unpaid caregiver in the many forms that takes. Why is it called Archangels? Because many people in this role don’t view themselves as formal caregivers, even as they monitor older loved ones’ health status from afar or support loved ones near to or in their homes. Ms. Drane also co-founded Eliza, Engage with Grace, and serves as Wellness Expert for Prudential.

In this episode, Ms. Drane and I talk about the impact caregiving has on caregivers’ well-being. We look at the challenges and joys of caregiving and the kinds of support that is often available but unknown. We examine how COVID-19 has changed the role and visibility of caregiving, and we look ahead to future transformations that start with empathy.

Links Related to Ms. Drane’s Podcast

• Research: Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24–30, 2020
• Forbes article: This Healthcare Entrepreneur Works As A Walmart Cashier And Came Up With A Plan To Help Caregivers
• Video: Finding Empathy and Common Ground in Challenging Times: A Fireside Chat with Alexandra Drane
• Archangels blog

Margaret Dimond, PhD, is president and CEO of McLaren Oakland, a 328-bed acute care provider serving all of Oakland County, Michigan. McLaren Oakland is in Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, and serves patients from diverse socio-economic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

In this episode, Dr. Dimond and I talk about the challenges of ensuring team member safety both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the critical role of communication in providing a lifeline to security resources and in connecting care team members across disciplines and locations, which is equally critical – especially when infection control protocols prevent easy mobility. We look ahead to the broader implications for team member safety and well-being in the aftermath of COVID-19.

Links Related to Dr. Dimond’s Podcast

• American Hospital Association webinar: Stories from the Frontlines
• Dr. Dimond’s successful CARES Act petition to the Oakland County Board of Commissioners

Jill Slominski, MD, is medical director of clinical experience at Presbyterian Healthcare Services in New Mexico. Dr. Slominski practices internal medicine, while her leadership role focuses on driving improvement in both team member and patient/family experience at Presbyterian. In this role, Dr. Slominski practices a comprehensive approach that marries the best of clinical science with evidence-based practices that support the emotional and physical well-being of all who work and seek care at Presbyterian.

In this episode, Dr. Slominski and I talk about how her focus on clinical experience has shifted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We delve into the concept of Code Lavender, a program for emotional support that Presbyterian had implemented prior to the pandemic, and how it has evolved to meet the changing needs of the care team. And we look ahead to a future in which humanity is at the center of healthcare decision making.

Links Related to Dr. Slominski’s Podcast

• Presbyterian Healthcare Services Code Lavender Guide
• The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare Stress First Aid
• The American Medical Association Steps Forward Resource Center