Mary Beth Kingston is the system Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Advocate Aurora Health, a 27-hospital integrated healthcare system. She has practiced in nursing leadership roles for over 35 years, including Clinical Nurse Specialist, Supervisor, Nurse Manager, Director, Chief Nursing Officer, and Chief Operating Officer roles. Mary Beth served on the Board of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and is currently the President-Elect. She received her BSN from West Chester University and her MSN from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently completing her PhD in Health Policy at the University of the Sciences. Mary Beth received the Pennsylvania Nightingale Award for Nursing Administration in 2007 and is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow alumna (2009-2012). Current community activities include serving on the boards of Mount Mary University and the Milwaukee Urban League.
1.What are the significant professional milestones in your career journey?
MBK: Active participation in nursing organizations ranks high on my list of professional milestones. Early in my career, I served on the Board and was President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. That experience demonstrated the value of professional relationships, learning outside the primary work environment, and leading by influence. More recently, my involvement in the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) has provided opportunities to network with nurse leaders throughout the country and influence nursing and health care on a national level.
In 2009, I had the opportunity to participate in the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellowship Program. The fellowship incorporated self-reflection, personal assessments, and encouragement to "think big" regarding your career and contributions. It impacted my decision 6 years ago to move from Philadelphia (after working in this area for my entire career) and move to the Mid-West as the system Chief Nurse Officer (CNO) for Aurora Health Care. That move expanded my professional world and set the stage for my current role as the CNO of Advocate Aurora Health.
2. How have you seen the specialty of nursing professional development (NPD) grow/evolve/change during your career?
MBK: Early in my career, NPD focused almost exclusively on orienting novice nurses to practice, along with maintaining required skills such as basic and advanced life support and education about new products. Gradually, additional areas of focus included preceptor, mentor, continuing education, certification, and specific skill maintenance programs. Today, NPD can vary in organizations but has closely aligned with practice needs to develop a comprehensive array of approaches and programs. Perhaps one of the most significant changes is the move from primarily classroom and lecture learning to more innovative models that capitalize on the adult learner. Self-paced learning in many forms, gamification, and need-based competency models are a few examples.
3. From your perspective, what do you see as significant trends or gaps in nursing practice that NPD could address?
MBK: In many parts of the country, our primary supply of nurses are new graduates (and we are grateful for them!). However, I often hear from seasoned nurses that we focus on residency and orientation and that may leave few resources to continue the development of our experienced nurses. Cultivating individualized development for more experienced nurses is one approach that can meet this need. Another area that is important, given our transition to a value-based healthcare environment, is a focus on the role of nurses across the entire continuum in all care settings-developing skills in care coordination and chronic disease management. In addition, incorporating behavioral health education into all programs is essential as the number of individuals with both mental and physical illness continues to grow nationally.
4. What insights can you share related to the value of NPD in healthcare organizations now and in the future?
MBK: We're all aware of the rapidity of change in our current healthcare environment. NPD plays a pivotal role in ensuring that our nursing workforce is prepared to care for those we serve in the midst of technological and scientific advances, societal and population shifts, changing regulatory requirements, and new care delivery models. One way to demonstrate value is to clearly align NPD activities and programs with the nursing strategic plan, which in turn is aligned with the overall organization's goals and strategies. This alignment will also provide visibility during the budgeting process.
It is essential that NPD focus on linking education and development to healthcare and workforce outcomes. This requires measuring the effectiveness either through research or a quality improvement approach with baseline metrics and predetermined measures of success. This also assists organizations in their Magnet(R) journey. Demonstrating the effect of a residency program on first year turnover rate or the impact of a specific educational initiative on readmission rates are two examples that impact both quality and the bottom line of the organization.
5. What advice do you have for NPD practitioners in the context of today's healthcare and learning environments?
MBK: Continue to "push the envelope" by exploring new and innovative approaches to NPD. We all know the pitfalls of assuming all issues can be solved with global education offerings. When faced with this assumption, educate others about evidence-based education-approaches that have demonstrated positive outcomes. Remain engaged with practice (shared governance, rounding, unit/department leadership), as this should inform planning of key activities and programs. Lastly, develop key internal and external partnerships to maximize resources and promote an interprofessional learning environment.