Reflective Journal - Week 16

The last week of class......I have been waiting for this day for a long time!!!  Going to school has always been something that I enjoy, but this is the first time I have done school with kids.  This experience helps me appreciate all the years of school I was able to complete before kids.  Combining kids and school is no joke!  But I did it!! YAY!!!!!!!!

This leadership class has good for me.  It has helped me evaluate myself on a regular basis, and reflect upon what kind of leader I am and more importantly what kind of leader I want to be.  I feel that this reflection for me has been good.  It can be easy to become complacent at work...and in a way I feel I have become slightly complacent.  But like I was once told by a certain instructor :)  there is a time and place for everything.  For the last 7 years my focus has been my kids.  Now that my husband and I are done having kids--even though we still need to raise the rascals:), our focus can change slightly.  This for me is taking a step back and thinking what I want out of my career over the next 10 years.  When I graduated I remember being asked, "where do you want to be in 10 years?" and magically I am not that far away from my 10 year mark as a nurse.  Am I where I wanted to be?  Am I ok with where I am in my career?  Luckily my answer to those questions is...YES!

Reflective Journal - Week 15

We are almost done!!!  After putting this off for 9 years I am so excited to be done with my BSN!  This week in leadership I was once again educated on something I never thought I would do.  The Bargaining assignment was very interesting and I have a new found appreciation for those who work within unions.  While working on the group exam due next week it was interesting reading different posts about nursing unions in Utah.  People have very strong feelings about unions for and against, and the views were interesting to read.  My experience and exposure to unions is very negative.  When my family lived in California my dad ran an exporting terminal in Long Beach.  The long shoremen union wanted my dad's employees to join the union and started approaching them.  My dad wanted his employees to make this decision with all the information and tried to help them understand the benefits of both being with the union as well as not.  Because he got involved and tried to help his employees the union people starting making threats to him and our family.  One morning I woke up for school and went outside to find all the windows in my dads SUV had been smashed in.  This may or may not have been associated with the union threats, but it sure felt like it.  I know unions aren't bad, and this assignment helped me see unions from a new light.  It would be interesting to see how our work environment would change if a nursing union came to Utah.

The best part of the week was to finally complete my Professional Portfolio.  This project is unlike anything I have done in my past.  I have done resumes, and 5-year plans, but I have never compiled all the information together into a portfolio.  Now that it is done my feelings about what I have done with my career to this point is interesting.  Putting everything down on paper has been a good eye-opener for me.

Reflective Journal - Week 14

Conflict....is this a topic that anyone likes to discuss?  I don't know if anyone enjoys being in a conflict or talking about conflict.  However, it is something we have all been a part of, and will continue to be a part of--it just part of life.  Looking at conflict is an interesting thing, but I feel that if we are more aware of how to solve a problem we can do better in times of conflict.  When in situations of conflict it is also important to understand your immediate reactions, and know if these reactions are helpful or hurtful to the situation.  By understanding this information a person can conduct themselves better in times of conflict and therefore work toward a solution.

In my place of work I don't see conflict too often.  But there are some individuals that I can think of that deal with conflict better than others.  To be a good leader in my mind is to deal with conflict in a productive way.  This doesn't mean that conflict resolution will be easy, or painless, but will end with a resolution that solves the problem that works for the best of the unit.  A manager tells people how to resolve the problem, but a leader helps the people solve the problem.  A manager yells and uses aggressive communication, a leader uses assertive communication.  A leader when in conflict follows their own advice.

Reflective Journal - Week 13

What a busy week....must be close to the end!  This week's assignments have been fun, and have helped me look at leadership in a new way.  Strategic planning is not an area I feel comfortable in, but feel I understand it a little better.  Doing the group project was interesting, you could tell where each of us worked and had an interest in.  I think that this probably comes into play in real life situations, a person's background can influence where they see need.  But in a management position a person would have to change that way of thinking and make decisions that are in the best interest for the whole hospital or corporation.

I am excited to see what changes UVU makes in the future, with a MSN and maybe eventually further.  The reason I chose to go to UVU was becuase all my information was already at that school. I didn't have to worry about transferring transcripts or wondering if certain classes would apply to a certain area.  I think that with UVU working toward MSN level education there would be other nurses like me.  There is a large number of people who graduate from UVU and I believe this would help give them a patient base.  This is an exciting change!  I was a student when UVU became a university that was exciting.  I have really enjoyed my time at UVU and with this program is complete I will have 3 degrees from UVU, all of which I am very proud of.  What a great school, doing such great things!

Reflective Journal - Week 12

This week as we talked about change I tried to look at my life, my personality, and my environment and consider what changes I could make to "mix things up".  In doing so I was slightly disappointed in myself at how much my life is mundane and without much change from day to day.  I don't dislike change, but I find it takes effort to make regular changes in routine and daily life.  So--I tried to make changes to see what happened.  I drove home from work in a different way, which took a lot of effort since I had been awake for 24 hours.  I went with my husband to a new restaurant we have never tried, I was pleasantly surprised.  I tried a new recipe for dinner, I enjoyed it as did my husband, but my kids were not as pleased.  Recalling these little changes in my life brings a smile to my face.  I like mixing things up, especially because it makes people (my kids) question me, wondering why I am doing something.  I think I need to try this more in the future to keep everyone on their toes.  If nothing else it is very entertaining!

Reflective Journal - Week 10

I really enjoyed this week assignments, especially the discussion with my teammates regarding our future in nursing and our ultimate career goal.  It was a good reminder for me of how different we all are.  I am glad that some of my teammates have the goal of becoming a unit nurse manager--since that is a job I never want.  Mostly because it seems difficult, and filled with a lot of meetings.    But every unit needs a good manager and I think some of those who expressed this as their goal have qualities that would help them be successful in this field.  

Last night I attended staff meeting for the unit I work in.   In this meeting we were told that IHC will require all new nurse hires as of July 1, 2017 to sign an agreement stating that they will complete their BSN within 5 years of their hire date.  This made me think back to last weeks discussion of the "future of nursing".  Many of us thought that the BSN requirement was coming, and this confirms that.  We were also informed that for now no requirement has been discussed for current working RNs within the corporation.  But I think that it is only a matter of time before that requirement is made for all nurses.  I was so thankful that I am almost done with my BSN when this thought came to my mind!  

A charge nurse position is going to be opening up in my unit.  I have been approached many times about my intentions.  Although in the past I have never really considered this type of position...this class has changed my thought process a little.  Thinking about my resume, with the plans of eventually attending grad school.  Having charge nurse as one of the highlights of my resume has intrigued me as I think about this position.  I still have not decided one way or another, but this class has definitely helped me view opportunities like this in a different light.  I guess a new adventure might lie ahead....maybe.   

Budget Interview

1.      What do you like most about budgeting?

I find it interesting to see where money goes, and trying to figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit together. 

2.      What is the hardest part of budgeting?

The hardest part of budgeting is keeping employees happy when budget cuts are being made.  Sometimes employees don’t understand that the budget cuts being made are done to avoid staff cuts and other significant changes in the work structure. 

3.      What kind of system do you use to keep track of the budget, is it electronic?

I use an excel worksheet that has been created and adjusted over time.  This makes it easy to quickly see what’s going on in the budget quickly. 

4.      What are some ways you try to keep within budget and where are the most budget cuts usually made?

From month to month there are not usually many changes so staying in budget is usually not very difficult.  The largest budget cuts I have had to make are in wages.  This usually results in having to lay-off 1 or 2 employees and then reassigning their workload. 

5.      Do you have a specific approval process you have to go through to get new items added to the budget?

In order to have new items added to the budget I have to explain why this is needed, and justify the increase in the budget according to increased profit.  This process is done with my manager.

6.      What consequences are there if you go over budget?

I have never had a month where I have been way over budget to know what would happen.  But I understand why this could be a serious problem. 

7.      Were you able to create your budget from scratch, or did the administration of your company hand it to you?

Prior to taking this job the budget was already made.  However, I have made adjustments since I started. 

8.      What is the most difficult aspect of budgeting?

Trying to find money that doesn’t seem to exist.

9.      What area/category of budgeting is the hardest to maintain?

The extras (lunches, flowers, drinks, etc) add up quickly, and people don’t understand that at times. 

10.  What is one tip you would give to a new leader on budgeting?

Frequently look at your budget and try to find ways it can be improved upon. 

11.  What area of the budget would people be most surprised by the amount spent?

The extra stuff in the department.  That stuff adds up quickly. 

12.  Is it difficult meeting budget from month to month?

Not usually since most things are fairly consistent.  

When I think about budgeting....actually lets be honest.  I don't like to think about doing budgets, or living by budgets, or talking about budgets.  But that is not reality.  We live every day within a budget, and the jobs we work at have to do the same.  As I was conducting this interview the one thing I was surprised by was expense of extra things.  I see this in may own life but I don't think I have ever applied it to workplace situations.  Every month when I look at the spending of my family I am slightly disappointed in how much money we spent of things of little to no importance.  In a workplace this can also be an area where the expense of little things can add up without even realizing.  

The person I interviewed was my brother.  He has always been a pretty financially savvy person, but by doing this interview I saw a new side of him.  It's funny how when we are wearing the "hat" of our job we can at times become a what seems like a new person.  I know that I see this in myself when I'm at work, but it is interesting seeing a new side of a person who you know well.