If you have good people skills..... such as communication, team building, leadership, resolving conflict and easily adaptable, then you could be the Director of Nursing Services like Kathie Perrin. Ms. Perrin has been in this position for 15 years. She knew she wanted to be a nurse at age 5. She describes herself as a very focused person.
In high school...... Ms. Perrin wrote a career paper on Public Health Nursing. From her research she knew she needed algebra, chemistry, biology, psychology and English courses that emphasized grammar and writing skills. Mix these courses with a personality for working with people and Ms. Perrin was on the way to her dream of success in the medical field.
In the past......Ms. Perrin worked as a nurse in public health, long term care, critical care and "on the floor". She completed the requirements to be licensed in nursing home administration and has a Master's Degree in Health Education.
She feels her strength... is in administration. As a Director of Nursing Services, her days are fast moving and full of variety where she has to make immediate response decisions.
Some of her responsibilities include:
Making sure that Valdez Regional Health Center is in compliance with regulatory requirements by the state and federal governments Setting up committees, such Allied Health, Pharmacy and Infection Control Acting as project director of critical access preparedness for rural hospitals Coordinating, updating and reviewing policies that govern the hospital Overseeing compliance with OSHA standards
The best part of her job.... She says her job is never boring and offers many opportunities to make a difference in the health field. Her favorite parts of her job are bringing groups together, seeing plans followed through and moving small groups to interdependent groups that work together. She describes the challenges of her job as having to spend half her time on doing jobs she doesn't particularly like and the difficulty of handling confrontation.
When you meet Ms Perrin, you know immediately that she likes what she does. She is smiling, constantly in motion and getting the job done.
Glossary
1. team building - working to bring a group together to form a team that supports and encourages other members. 2. adaptable - easily adjust to a situation 3. very focused person - someone who has a goal and keeps that in mind as he/she plans, studies and works 4. public health nursing - 5. long term care nursing 6. critical care nursing 7. "on the floor" nursing 8. nursing home administration 9. immediate response decisions - decisions made quickly and in response to an emergency or critical situation 10. compliance with regulatory requirements 11. critical access preparedness for rural hospitals - a plan for hospitals in the bush to have emergency help from the larger hospitals 12. compliance with OSHA standards