"That was the role that solidified what I really wanted in nursing," she said. "You kind of get a bird’s-eye view of what’s happening, not only at your patient’s bedside with their families, but also in the global market as far as health care is concerned. You know – how do we make sure the bedside nurses have all the tools they need to do their jobs, and how do we elevate care to provide service excellence as a corporation. I think that’s the biggest challenge, to be able to make that happen on all fronts."

 

For that reason, when the position opened at Good Samaritan, Wild said, "It seemed like it was part of what my vision for myself was, to put me in a position where I could affect change a little bit better."

 

As someone who made her entry into health care as a nurse’s aide in a nursing home, and who then worked as a nurse in a hospital, Wild said she believes that nursing is the greatest profession on earth, but being a nurse at the bedside is the hardest job at a hospital. "They give emotionally every day to their patients and it can be very draining, but it can also be very rewarding. The patients are sick and if you really have a heart for this job, you understand how much they need us, and how much they rely on us to provide not just good care to them, but safe care; and they need somebody who is going to really see them as a person, and not just as a patient."

 

Because Wild has that experience, she believes it has helped her as CNO. "It’s key for any leader to understand what the jobs are of those who are reporting to them. Not just what they do but what their experiences are on a daily basis." She considers nursing leadership to be "one of those coveted positions" and says it’s not a title that she takes lightly. "I think we’re doing it wrong unless we’re doing it in such a way that we are serving our staff. The more of a leader we become, the more of a servant we are. For me, as a nursing leader in this facility, I believe it’s my job to serve the staff who report to me, not just the patients. I am the person who needs to lift the nurses up and give them the tools they need to do their job and do it well, so they are able to give of themselves emotionally and intellectually. This is how we elevate care. If we’re not patient-centered, and not caring for our patients’ physical needs, as well as their emotional and spiritual needs, we’re not doing the job that we should be doing."

 

One of the messages she tries to instill in the nurses when she is directing orientation classes is that if they have gone a day on the job and haven’t learned something new, then they are doing something wrong. "I believe that is true from entry level nursing, all the way up to my job. If I’m not learning something every day, then I’m not paying attention."

 

Wild went on to say that during orientation classes, she talks not just to the nurses and nurses aides who are starting, but also to all others coming on-board. She tries to give them a vision of what kinds of things they can expect from Good Samaritan, and what kinds of things are expected from them. "It’s important for my staff to know that I’m not afraid to get right in there with them, hear the patients’ concerns and help them do whatever needs to be done – because the most important job is at the bedside, because it all goes back to the patient."

 

Wild summed up her new position by commenting, "I love nursing, I love nursing leadership. To me it’s the perfect job. It’s one of those things I feel I was born to do."