Meet My Team: Clinical nurse specialists, clinical resource nurses lead healthcare transformation
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Clinical nurse specialists and clinical resource nurses across Mayo Clinic drive practice transformation from bedside care to system-level innovation.
To be a nurse is to wear many hats. On any given day, a clinical nurse specialist at Mayo Clinic wears three: advanced practice registered nurse, nurse leader and system innovator.
Clinical nurse specialists serve across all Mayo locations and specialties, supported by clinical resource nurses who are preparing to step into the clinical nurse specialist role. Paired with experienced mentors, these nurses receive guidance and support as they grow in their practice. Together, this group of just over 100 professionals in the Department of Nursing has a powerful effect on Mayo Clinic.
The clinical nurse specialist team translates evidence into everyday practice and advances nursing practice, guiding nursing teams in patient care through their specialty lens and leadership. Bolstering this frontline insight, they evaluate, transform and influence systems that drive quality outcomes and better serve patients.
Though not unique to Mayo Clinic, the team is strengthened through intentional investment in growth and leadership development. Their influence continues to expand with four team members inducted into the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists' prestigious Clinical Nurse Specialist Institute Fellowship Program: Rachel Moody, Tracy Thomas, Jenn Elmer, D.N.P., and Cristina Gallup, D.N.P.
"The clinical nurse specialist team bridges practice and systems, turning evidence into action and delivering quality outcomes. Their work transforms care at every level," says Ryannon Frederick, chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic.
Shared insight Q&A
Just in time for Clinical Nurse Specialist Week, the News Center asked clinical nurse specialist team members to share insights into their work. Their responses have been compiled to reflect their shared experiences:
How do you spend most of your day?
No two days look the same, but that's why we love what we do. Some days, we mentor and consult with nurses or troubleshooting pressing concerns. Other days, we review literature and guidelines and develop new resources to help staff.
Most of us are also part of enterprise committees dedicated to problem-solving for system-wide processes in the practice.
What might surprise people about the work your team does?
Though we're embedded across the department, we're very well connected. Because of our strong collaboration, we're able to identify and standardize nursing best practices to ensure consistency, quality and improved patient outcomes at all sites.
While some think our role is exclusively educating or consulting, we do a lot of work behind the scenes to strengthen bridges between nursing staff, leaders, physicians and patients.
Everyone at Mayo contributes to caring for patients. How does your team do that?
Every part of our role is designed to care for patients. Sometimes, that means working at the bedside and helping guide nurses with complex cases. Other times, that means seeking and mending kinks in care delivery to improve patient outcomes.
You're going to hire a new team member. Describe your ideal candidate.
Aside from the master's or doctorate degree and certification, our ideal candidate is adaptable and ready to pivot when priorities change. We work in a fast-paced, ever-evolving environment so leadership and curiosity are highly valued. But we're also a tight-knit group, and we love to laugh. If you can juggle five things at once, keep a sense of humor and still remember the latest evidence-based guidelines, you're hired.
What is a recent team success that you're proud of?
How many characters do we have? To name a few, our team has developed protocols for GLP-1 medication titration, standardized oral care to prevent postoperative pneumonia and led department-wide rollouts.
Several members have been recognized for their contributions, including awards for quality improvement and presentations at national conferences.
If your team was a band, what would it be called?
The poll results are in: Organized Chaos.
Tied for second place: The MacGyvers and The Expertise Collective.
If you had to describe your team's work in six words, what would your six-word story be?
Establishing and promoting sustainable practice standardization.
Honorable mention: There is a guideline for that.
The clinical nurse specialist team helps drive vital components of the Department of Nursing enterprise strategic plan through their commitment to quality, patient care and nursing practice transformation.