Area of expertise: Leadership and professional development.
Rubie Rose Costales is a System-Site Nursing Education Professional Development Specialist. She has been in various leadership roles at Advocate Aurora Health Care. She serves as an NEPD ambassador from the system level and assists in the development and delivery of organizational initiatives at the site level. Additionally, Rubie Rose has presented at local and national conferences.
DD: What are the significant professional milestones thus far in your career journey?
RRC: I started as a frontline nurse; have been in leadership roles, including house supervisor and clinical operations manager; and transitioned to an NPD specialist role. I am a recent graduate of the ANPD Leadership Academy. Having held various leadership positions, the academy has pushed my boundaries to maximize my potential and abilities. It provides an opportunity for aspiring NPD leaders to address gaps and influence change in the healthcare system. It was an honor to present my poster on the Nurse Manager Succession Program at the Aspire to Trailblaze 2022 ANPD Conference.
DD: Succession planning is such a hot topic these days. Can you tell us more about your nurse manager succession planning initiative that you completed as part of the leadership academy?
RRC: The Clinical Nurse Manager Succession Program (CNMSP) is a 90-day self-paced, self-development program developed to create a stream of qualified, competent, and willing nurse leaders to readily succeed managers planning to leave their role. I measured the effectiveness of a CNMSP to prepare participants to transition to a nurse manager role and their confidence in demonstrating the organization's expected leadership behaviors.
The CNMSP demonstrated positive results in perceived readiness to transition to a manager role and confidence in leadership behaviors. Survey results showed that 100% of participants agreed the program is effective and recommend it being implemented across the organization.
DD: From your perspective, what do you see as significant trends or gaps in nursing practice that nursing professional development could address?
RRC: The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that we should be nimble in our roles, particularly in the realm of redeployment of staff and seeking out appropriate skill sets. I would like to see the integration of technology through an IT platform that can house nurse rosters, coupled with their skill set with real-time daily staffing schedule. This would allow NPD practitioners to manage nursing staff education across healthcare systems. I would also like to see more states join the compact nursing states. This would allow nurses to practice seamlessly throughout the nation, enabling nursing manpower and skill development response time to be reduced.
DD: What advice do you have for NPD practitioners in the context of today's health care and learning environments?
RRC: With the changing landscape, NPD practitioners need to adopt to various roles and be proactive in environmental scanning and emerging trends. The pandemic taught practitioners how to quickly adapt the nursing and healthcare workforce to the realities facing healthcare systems. NPD roles have grown, and we have created systems and processes to meet the urgent crisis.
NPD practitioners braved the complexities and challenges brought on by the pandemic and were able to quickly develop and implement system and processes to address current challenges and meet the next challenge. NPD practitioners have demonstrated our value and have created innovative solutions. We need to continue to enhance our infrastructures like developing technology platforms and being proactive in adapting to changing and unexpected political, technological, and healthcare demands.
DD: What advice do you have for someone who is just starting out in the NPD?
RRC: My advice to someone who is just starting out in NPD is to believe in yourself, continue to grow professionally in your career, network, and collaborate with individuals who share the passion for our specialty. Your growth is for YOU, and use that to influence change in health care.