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Thanks for listening. Now here's the episode.
- Welcome everyone,
to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series.
I'm Ryan Mohammed Ry and moderator with Becker's Healthcare.
I'm absolutely thrilled to have with me today.
Christine Mahoney, chief Nursing Officer,
senior vice president,
and MSHS, vice President
of Critical Care Nursing at Mount Sinai Beth
Israel in downtown.
Christine, it's very nice
to have you on the podcast today. How are you?
- I am very well. Thank you for having me.
- Of course. Always. Well, tka, to started,
would you mind please introducing yourself
and telling us a bit about your background?
- Certainly. My name is Christine Mahoney.
I am, um, that's my title. has been stated before.
I am the Chief Nursing Officer for Mount Sinai Beth Israel
and downtown I am also the system vp, VP
for critical care nursing
and also the senior Vice president.
I, um, I'm actually started my career at the hospital in
which I'm currently working
as a staff nurse in the medical intensive care unit.
And since, um, doing that or
after doing that as I should say,
I took on some leadership roles at both, um, NYU, uh,
medical Center and also at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
From there, uh, from my experiences there, I went on
to the Mount Sinai Hospital
and became the nurse manager for the cardiothoracic ICU.
And then I came back to Mount Sinai Beth Israel, which is
where I had started my nursing career as a nurse manager
for both the medical intensive care unit
and the surgical intensive care unit.
I did have some very fortunate promotional opportunities
as director and then senior director of nursing
before I assumed my current role, uh,
as chief Nursing Officer.
- Wonderful, wonderful.
Thank you so much for giving us that background.
So to begin the podcast, the one thing I wanted
to ask you first is, can you tell me about your most
successful project or initiative from the last year?
What issues were you trying to solve
and also what drove the success?
- I think the, the biggest challenge that we have faced, um,
in the last year are the financial burdens
that the hospitals are experiencing, not only due
to decreased, um, revenue coming into the hospitals,
but also the fact
that we are facing a huge staffing shortage
and we have been employing travel nurses in
the institutions.
We are trying to look at ways
that we could possibly recoup some, um, revenue.
And we are currently being faced with, um, downsizing
in our hospital with some of our units.
And this has been very challenging,
as I'm sure you can imagine, number one,
for having grown up here,
but also for just, um, the staff who have been here for
so many years having
to make the decisions to leave the hospital.
It is, uh, has been my home for many years, as I've said.
And what we're trying to do is really be very, um,
empathetic and transparent with our staff so
that we can help them transition at this time.
- Got it. Thank you so much for sharing that insight.
So as you know,
the clinical workforce has changed a lot in the last few
years for obvious reasons.
What challenges are you still facing
and how do you see the clinical workforce evolving?
- Oh my goodness. There's massive change.
I believe gone are the days, um, of working in a hospital
for 30 years or more, uh,
and then retiring from your position.
These nurses are very focused today on
advancing their careers.
I believe that's pretty much in calculated in them
throughout nursing school to really see themselves
as change, which I really believe that they are.
However, what I feel gets lost is the wisdom of nursing.
That wisdom that comes from years at the bedside,
perfecting not only your craft,
but getting that true nursing judgment and wisdom.
Also, I think the challenge is keeping nurses intellectually
and academically engaged as well
as having them professionally advance within their
particular institution of choice.
I believe we're all trying to think of new ways
to retain our nurses.
However, we see that that retention goes
beyond pay and benefits.
While those are essential for retention, I believe
that we need to do more clinical ladders
and true mentorship programs are a good start,
but we can probably do more in addition
to those two items there.
- Yeah, definitely. You would definitely
gimme something to think about.
So in terms of how nurses
are thinking about their careers long term,
the last thing I wanted to ask you is
what is your best advice
for aspiring physician nurse leaders?
- Get involved. Get in front of people, know people
and become known amongst those groups,
whether they're committees, task forces.
Look to get more actively involved when you see,
see a need and take a chance.
Learn something new,
create your own educational opportunities,
grow and find your voice.
I think it's important that people listen with intent.
Every day brings opportunities to learn not only skills,
but communication strategies
and different approaches to crisis management.
Listen closely to how others deal
with those types of situations.
Identify leaders you wish to emulate.
This will also help you learn what you don't want to be.
Don't be as much as who you want to be.
I feel that my success has always been closely aligned
with following what felt right for me.
I think integrity is a good part
and definitely kindness above all,
constantly layering on new educational opportunities is
essential not only for credentials, but
because that is what we should all be doing in nursing
and healthcare for the entirety of our careers.
And most importantly, be gentle on yourself as you learn.
It takes time. You must be patient
and kind to yourself on the journey.
- Wonderful. Thank you so much for those final thoughts.
This has been an amazing and informative discussion, truly.
So again, I wanna thank you so much
for coming on Beckers Healthcare
and I look forward to connecting with you again soon.
- Okay, thank you. - It's so important
for leaders at the top of organizations to keep learning,
stay sharp, grow their networks,
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