Celebrating Nurses - Today and Every Day (ft. Kristen Bustamante, RN)

Thanks for tuning to Digital Voices podcast, where we chat digital transformation, challenges, and opportunities across healthcare and life sciences.

And now, your host, Ed Marx. Welcome to Digital Voices. This is Ed Marx, CEO of Divergent, and I'm really excited because this is a special bonus drop for Nurses Week, but it's also a special edition of our podcast because we have a new producer, Megan. So Megan, welcome to Digital Voices.

Thank you, Ed. I'm so excited to get the opportunity to work with you on this podcast.

Yeah, we're gonna have fun because we get to hear from so many interesting people that are truly doing transformative work in healthcare all over the place, not just with providers but with patients. and life sciences, and it'll be really great. So we are focused on nurses this particular special drop, Meghan. So tell me a story. Is there a story when I say nurses that comes to mind sometime in your life, you know, just how a nurse impacted your life?

Yeah, definitely. For the birth of my son, so I went in, I was induced, so I was, you know, settling in for the long haul. I think I saw maybe Several different shifts come through during my labor, but there was one nurse who we got both times, and she was just there for me the whole time. Ended up going in for a C-section. She was able to come in with me for that, and she's actually a family friend, and there was just a lot of history there, and it was really great to have her there through that process. And the connection that I feel with her now— I almost feel like if I see her out in public, I want to just like go up and give her a hug and feel like I know her so well. But I just can't imagine all of the lives if she impacts everybody's life like she impacted mine. That's just incredible.

Yeah, that's cool. That's a great story. I'll stick along the same theme then. So with the birth of my oldest daughter, and I'll tell the story some other day, but it was a very traumatic life and death situation with our daughter. And so, when she was 18, I brought her back to that hospital and we went into the NICU where she was a patient. And one of the nurses there was one of the original nurses from 18 years prior. And she goes—

Wow.

I remember Tally. Tally's the name of our daughter. And it was like this, uh, kind of like this emotional reunion, you know, because our, our daughter was born floppy, you know, without life, but she was resuscitated and those sort of things. So, it was like, wow. But you're right, Megan, nurses are amazing. They get to help so many, many people, oftentimes the unsung heroes, you know, in our society. And, and I just love nurses so much, I actually married one. So, anyways, I want to introduce everyone to a nurse. So, I have with me today Kristen Bustamante. She's an RN, BSN, And I just want to welcome you, Kristen.

Thank you. So glad to be here talking to you today.

Yeah. So Kristen and I go way back, like 24 hours.

Yes, it's been a very eventful 24 hours, Ed.

Yeah. So Kristen and I have the pleasure to start serving at Divergent in the last few days. And so we were onboarding together and we were going to do this special drop. And I thought, wow, here's a chance to not only have a nurse who's been on the floor and done nursing, but also case management. I don't wanna give away too much. And now is serving in an advisory capacity. So that's how we first met. But Kristin, I ask 2 standard questions of all of our guests, even on special drops. And the first one is, what songs would we find on your playlist if you were to show us today?

Ooh, Ed, I like an eclectic mix of new and old. So my most recently played, Sophie Tucker, Summer in New York. Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing, and John Mayer, Wild Blue. I'd say those 3.

That's awesome. No, I like that. And what about your life message or mantra or words to live by? Is this something that sort of motivates you that you think about?

Absolutely. Um, my personal mantra is to spend time doing things you enjoy. We only get this one life, and it's Such a disservice spending our limited time here on earth doing things that don't foster our overall happiness. And that includes in your career or your personal life. So, take the opportunities, eat the beautiful meals, get out of your comfort zone. You don't want to look back and think, what if? So, follow your happiness. You owe it to yourself.

Yeah, I love it. That's great. So, Kristen, I introduced you at a very high level. Why don't you share with our audience a little bit about yourself, personal and professionally, and then we'll get into the nursing aspect.

Sure. I was born and raised in beautiful western Kentucky city of Owensboro. It is really the kind of city that you see in movies. It's very calm, very peaceful, very joyful. My husband's name is Nico. He works in the banking industry, and we have been married for 6 years this month, and we are always going somewhere or doing something fun. I completed my undergrad at University of Louisville and then graduate school with Western Governors University and truly loved both. And I have been working in healthcare in some capacity since 2013.

That's awesome. So how did you choose nursing?

And that's a good question. And I love to get this question from people. You know, I never envisioned myself becoming a nurse. There was no medical personnel in my family or amongst my friends at that time. I was actually a public relations major going into my freshman year of college and unexpectedly My father was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and given a very grim prognosis. During that period of time, we spent so much of our time in and out of offices, cancer centers with him, and the empathy with which the nursing and medical staff treated my family during that time was life-changing. I decided then that I wanted to go into nursing so that I too could pay it forward. and be that source of comfort for another family. So I graduated from the University of Louisville with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, and then later completed graduate school with my MBA in healthcare management.

Super. No, that's a great, great story. So what was your first role in nursing? Did you work in a hospital and on a floor, or what was your first role?

Yes, I worked in surgical recovery on the floor. I spent the first little bit of professional career at the bedside before I transitioned into case management.

Yeah, and tell me about your roles in case management. And so for those who might not understand, tell us about sort of that path. So you were a bedside nurse and you did that for a little while, and then you went into case management. So what's that like?

So, you know, I loved being at the bedside. However, it was a little bit difficult for me in a completely hands-on role. Cancer per se has touched the lives of so many we know, and it is difficult to be in a very acute care setting and to not always have the opportunity to witness patient improvements. So I recognized my own desire to be able to lay a hand on my patients while they were transitioning out of that inpatient setting and to be able to join them in their excitement in acclimating back into everyday healthy life. So I discovered I could do that every single day within the realm of case management.

Yeah, that's very cool. So what's great about nursing is there's so many ways to develop your career, not just at the bedside or, you know, in the OR or research or as you talked about case management and now in consulting for you. So tell me about the strengths that, you know, being a nurse will bring to consulting.

I think a nurse has a very unique perspective of the ins and outs of healthcare. You know, we have been on the floor, we have been in the thick of it, and we know what works. But more importantly, we know what does not work. And that alone is a huge advantage of working in consulting, being able to recognize and problem solve at the source.

Yeah, that's tremendous. And I agree with you, there's, there's nothing more powerful than a clinician that comes into digital transformation And understands what it's like to be a caregiver, understands the patient perspective perhaps much more than others who didn't have that experience. And it makes for a very, very powerful combination. So I'm so glad, Kristin, that you are with our organization as we help many other organizations now through digital transformation. And again, we have the background because of individuals like yourself who have worked in that healthcare setting at the bedside and case management. So it's very powerful. What are some of the challenges for nurses today? So we hear a lot, right? It's the visibility of this has really increased quite substantially. What are some of the maybe 2 or 3 challenges that you often hear about from your nurse peers?

You know, nurses are expected to bear the brunt of every aspect of healthcare. You know, you may see your nurse dispensing you medications or sitting at the computer charting, but you may You may not see that nurse acting as the janitor, the assistant, the IT guru, the chaplain. The list is never-ending. It is truly expected that the nurse be able to be everywhere all at once, every second of their shift. There is no downtime on the floor of a busy hospital. And that can create quick burnout, which unfortunately perpetuates that constant nursing shortage and those unsafe staff ratios that we tend to hear about and the lack of access to the tools needed to do a nurse's job. And those are, you know, the main challenges that just continue to show themselves within the realm of healthcare.

Yeah, that's— I think you're spot on with that. Are there ideas that you've thought about where technology can sort of help with some of those?

100%. There is nothing more important than an electronic medical record system that captures precisely what is necessary and pertinent to the patient. Nothing more, nothing less, because We know that nurses are always short on time and we need that electronic medical record system to work as it should without bugs, lags, or general program failures. You know, it is— this is important information being charted for every hour of a person's medical stay or office visit, and working technology makes all the difference.

Yeah, I agree with you. You know, and I serve— I have the privilege to serve on a board of a major health system in our country. And I get to see these things firsthand, you know, at every— it's not just at the board meetings. There's a lot of chatter, as you might imagine, being on a board, that happens almost on a daily basis. And really, how to help nurses is probably the top priority right now because of the burnout, because of the sort of hostility that has creeped in, maybe because of COVID or other factors. But we have to create a safe workplace as well. And, you know, there are these tools that we talked about and, you know, making that electronic health record just as smooth as possible and coming up with better ways of automating all these processes that take place. And as I mentioned, my wife is a nurse and she still does some bedside care once or twice a week. And, you know, the stories that I hear and so many opportunities to continue to leverage technology to help with both the burnout, also to help with the automation, and ultimately create a more safe and equitable environment for the patients that we serve. So that's one cool thing that you'll be bringing to the table with us here at Divergent is really that whole point of view and understanding of how we can really leverage technology to enable sort of this digital transformation that we've been talking about for some time. So, Kristen, we both share a passion obviously for nursing. And if you were a chief nurse officer or even a CEO of a health system or a hospital or a clinic, what might you do? You know, it could be technology, it could be just cultural things or a combination, but what are some things that you would do to show thanks for the great nurses?

I am certainly all about fostering a positive culture, so I would keep in close contact with the nurses and medical staff that are working the floors day in and day out, just to let them know that you recognize the work they're doing. You understand that they deserve to work in a safe environment, you know, be it those safe staffing ratios or simply to have the tools on hand necessary to do their jobs. But you know, at the end of the day, a nurse is still a human, and nurses get scared and nurses need to feel supported in every aspect, especially from the very, you know, top leadership in an organization. It's very important.

Yes, agree. And what about any ideas on what you might do to celebrate nurses? Maybe you and I will end on this particular note. But, you know, what might you do? You know, giving thanks is something that you mentioned. Any other ideas around Celebrating nurses and not just once a year. That's the other thing. We are doing a special bonus drop because it is Nurses Week, because we did want to take some time out. But obviously nurses need to be celebrated every day. So any, any ideas of what you might do or what you— where you served previously, what they might have done?

Sure.

You know, if you know a nurse, if you love a nurse, if you see a nurse out, words go a long way. Just simply recognizing the work that they are doing, acknowledging their sacrifices and saying thank you. You know, words do matter. And also coffee goes a long way too. Yeah.

Yeah, those are good. And, you know, on the tech front, like we were talking about earlier, I would always, when I served as an executive in health systems, always partnered closely with the chief nurse officer. And we would do everything we could from a tech point of view. And some examples were where we automated, you know, basically a push button on their phones so that they could call for emergency help immediately, not have to dial 911, which might take too long, but it was literally a button on their phone and it geolocated their location. So that's one example because, you know, we served in areas where sometimes it was kind of scary to work. And while we did everything we could to protect and create a safe environment, in case someone sort of slipped through, we had this capability which endeared a lot of confidence in the nurses that we really cared about them. And indeed, We took down the incidents and created a safe work environment as a result. And, you know, we were talking about the electronic health record a little bit earlier. And so we created a button where a nurse, if she or he felt that something that was in that workflow was really inefficient or redundant or didn't need to be there, or there were too many screens, they could also press a button and enter some information and we would review it. on a regular basis. And I think we did— we worked on about 80% of the ideas, and it just made for more efficient nursing. So we also said thank you, as you mentioned, and celebrated nurses every day, and then also married that with, you know, these technology capabilities to try to automate and again help reduce burnout essentially in, in their daily work. So I agree with you, Kristen. We should love on our nurses always and give thanks. So as we end up, Kristen, with our drop today, is there anything else that I may have missed or any topic that you wanted to double down on as we, as we end today?

I just want to say, you know, nurses are truly the backbone, you know, a backbone within our society. And I just really appreciate having the opportunity to speak with you about it, Ed. I feel, you know, so passionate about excellence in healthcare, and I'm very excited to be in this Client Services Director role within Divergent because I know that Divergent is, is going to continue to make such wonderful changes within the healthcare realm, and it does value excellence, and, and I love to be a part of a passionate team like that. It's been such a pleasure.

Yeah, likewise. Thank you, Kristen, for being our guest. And we look forward to speaking with all of you again in our next drop of Digital Voices.

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