[0:00 - 0:11] Kimberly:
Hello, Courtnay. Thank you for taking the time to spend with us this morning. This is Courtnay Caufield. She is the Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Cottage Hospital. Welcome.

[0:11 - 0:15] Courtnay:
Thank you so much, Dr. Long. It's lovely to be here and I love to talk to you all the time.

[0:16 - 0:30] Kimberly:
Absolutely. So I'm going to launch right into the questions. Every leader has a journey that brings them to where they are. Can you share with us what experiences and challenges you've had down your path?

[0:31 - 1:27] Courtnay:
Sure, sure. I mean, I think some people fall into leadership, other people are tapped. I think that from a young nurse perspective age, when I started off, I saw opportunities in leadership to be able to help improve processes, like many people do, and just not sure exactly how to approach that. So just being given the opportunity to either step into a leadership role, whether it's through shared governance, charge nurse. My pathway was through informatics, where I had a previous background in IT. So in nursing, I was able to use that skill set and help with the EMR build.
And I think the challenges that I faced as well was just given the right circumstance, the right time, the right opportunity, and someone believing in you before they know what you can do. So that's been, you know, just having the right opportunities in many different situations. And that's where I think that, you know, I encourage others as well, where look for those opportunities, even if it doesn't seem traditional.

[1:28 - 1:35] Kimberly:
I think that's wonderful. As you look back, what was the pivotal moment in your career that defined the leader that you've become?

[1:36 - 2:40] Courtnay:
I've been asked this question before, and it's so hard when people say, you know, is there a specific time in your leadership journey or what's your proudest moment? And I've had so many opportunities for proud moments. I think that when I was an executive director over a large group of people having to lead a regulatory survey and some crisis operations, there was a pivotal moment where people looked to me and we had a teamwork approach, but they believed in me and said, we're going where you're going and we're behind you, blindly following because of the faith in what we've done together, either in the past or just that faith in your leadership style.
And then the feedback that they had trust and it made them feel confident and putting the trust back in them as well through whatever situation it might be. And I think receiving that feedback from different people in different situations and just making sure that they knew that they were valued and they felt that I saw them for who they were really was a pivotal moment when I've had that experience before and it means so much to me. And I can't ask for anything more as a leader.

[2:40 - 2:59] Kimberly:
You know that word trust, it attests to a lot about you. On your leadership journey, sometimes leadership can be a little isolating, a little lonely. How do you stay connected, stay grounded, work through that if you're experiencing it?

[2:59 - 4:23] Courtnay:
Yeah, I, you know, I've shared this with new leaders, saying it's lonely at the top. The higher you get up the food chain, there's less people you're allowed to talk to or you can trust with and that you see not necessarily as a peer group, but that you are in a similar role with. So connecting with peers through programs, through organizations like ACNL, through the American Nurses Association, you know, having that network of colleagues to be able to call on when you don't know the answer. And honestly, people have been more receptive than you might think to be able to share trade secrets or say, I need to know how I do this. Do you have an example or could you help me in a way that might help my practice? I'm struggling with this. And there is a network out there. It's just stating that, you know, I need help and reaching out to your peers.
I think also that outside of work, you're practicing mindfulness and your family and staying connected to things that are really important to you and not losing sight of who you are as a human. It sets a really good example for leaders who see leadership as just a 20-hour workday. And why would anybody want to do that? So I think that trying to set a good example and allowing others permission to be grounded, you know, it may be lonely and you may have a smaller group of people that you can speak to, but it's so rewarding, fulfilling, and it gives people the opportunity to reach out to you when they need help.

[4:23 - 4:35] Kimberly:
Oh, absolutely. That humanity is huge. If you could give one piece of advice to someone who's just starting their nursing career, what would that be and why would it be so important?

[4:36 - 5:32] Courtnay:
I recently had this conversation with a family member who's just journeying into leadership. And, you know, I said, just keep your curiosity that you have right now, that why, you know, that drive, that saying, you know, I want to make a difference. Keep being kind, keep who you are, and make sure that you stay true to yourself because there's only one of you. And, you know, having that curious nature of why do I want to do this? Why am I getting into leadership? What's in it for the first place? You know, how am I going to make a difference? We all want to make a difference. And in different roles you just have different opportunities, different meetings, different ways to make a difference. So just know that there may be something very little that you're doing, but you are making an impact. And remembering that and reflecting on that as a new leader, even when the days are really hard, that one little thing you might have done, maybe it's just a smile to a patient in a hallway, it is making a difference. So just have the gratitude towards yourself and also what you're giving back to the nursing community.

[5:33 - 5:48] Kimberly:
Oh, my goodness. That's wonderful. Courtnay, thank you so much for taking the time away from your son and the football game to spend time with us. I really appreciate it.

[5:45 - 5:46] Courtnay:
No, no, this has been great.

[5:46 - 5:48] Kimberly:
And I appreciate you. Thank you, dear.