Theresa McDONEL, DNP, RN, is somewhat unusual when it comes to health care executives. The position of chief executive nurses in the Duke University’s health system, and is one of the best academic health systems in the United States, is more than that, and she remains a nurse of oncology. It brings this double perspective – the meeting hall strategy that meets reality next to the bed – for all the decisions it makes.
Most health systems throughout the country today interact with normal fatigue. But McDONEL is proactively tries to make a change – workforce leadership and innovative safety. Her team comes out innovations led by front lines like The virtual reality list Safety training in the workplace and artificial intelligent employment tools, which already reduces nursing work and improve their retaining.
It also helps to redefine the relationship between academic circles and clinical practice, as the College of Medicine and the Health System in Duke broke in ways that can help in positively influence how to train and preserve the next generation of nurses.
We talked to McDONEL to get an internal point of view of its nursing, exhaustion and automation approach.
Q: Please talk about your technology strategy in Duke.
A. Safety in the workplace is essential for everything we do in health care, but how we train on it must develop. We have followed an approach led by the nurse to rethink safety teaching using an overwhelming virtual reality.
This initiative was born from the summit of our nurses, as the front lines nurses have identified gaps in traditional training methods, especially when preparing to remove the conflict in real time. The result was the VR platform put doctors in high -stress simulation scenarios, allowing them to build confidence and muscle memory in a safe and repetitive environment.
What makes this strategy effective is not just technology but the deliberate design process behind it. Training reflects clinical challenges in the real world because it was developed by those who test them daily. More than 5,000 hours of practice has already been completed, and we have seen measurable A decrease in violence in the reported workplace Accidents. This training has left our nurses feel more prepared, supported and controlled by their safety.
This VR training is part of a broader redefinition of professional development. We transform from models based on compliance into experimental and centered on humans. Whether improving safety or communication, we build capabilities through effective innovation and empowerment. It enhances that our nurses are not negative participants in the system – they are incentives for change.
Q: Another innovation that you lead is the employment tools that operate in Amnesty International designed to reduce the nurse’s additional work and improve their retention. How do these tools work, and what are the results you see?
A. AI -powered employment tools transform the way we think about planning workforce. Not only as a logistical challenge but as a way to restore balance and fairness through our teams. These tools use data in an actual time to predict the patient’s request and recommend dynamic recruitment modifications. More importantly, they give nurses the ability to predict and control their daily tables, which directly supports career retention and functional satisfaction.
We did not connect new programs and hope for the best. From the beginning, we brought the nurses to the design and testing process. Their inputs formed everything from the ability to use the interface to how to capture the preferences of the transformation. This cooperative approach means that we have solved real problems, not just numbering old problems.
The results talk about themselves. Since the start of the start, we reduced the additional time by 23 %, improving 18 % retention, and enhancing the continuity of care by reducing the need for floating at the last minute.
The most encouraged is to see how these tools are promoting the wider workforce strategy. Amnesty International enables a better vision To support decision -making. For nurses leaders, this means planning innovative resources. For employee nurses, this means a better quality of life. For patients, this means that existing care teams, comfort and focus.
This is what smart innovation appears when nurses help lead the charge.
Q: You told me that your vision is rooted in sympathy. Please talk about how this affects your work in general, your work with fatigue, and your work with nurses and health.
A. Amproof is a strategic necessity in health care. My leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that mercy nourishes clarity. When we take some time to understand the live experiences of our employees, not only what they do but what is necessary to do this well, we create more intelligent systems and stronger results.
It is not a matter of relieving discomfort; It comes to designing care environments where people feel seeing, supporting and preparing them to do the work they are called to do.
When discussing exhaustion, we often focus on what it lacks: employment, time, support. But I found confidence that I had eroded. Trust that the system will meet the doctors in the middle of the road. We restore this confidence by including sympathy for our operations. This means listening without judgment, involving employees in shaping the tools they use, and creating the workflow tasks that respect their experience.
Whether it gives employees more control of their schedules or remove the duties of documents in excess of need, our approach is fixed: How will it seem to lead to sympathy and follow -up?
In the field of health information technology, sympathy means ensuring technology adaptation to humans, not the other way around. Our employees actively share tools with our teams, and ask how something works and how he feels. The emotional approach ensures that the solutions reduce friction.
Is it freed the time of the patient’s meaningful interaction? Does doctors help end their transformation while leaving the energy to their families and themselves? This lens helps us avoid excessive engineering and maintain our efforts to innovate on the basis of humanity. Ultimately, mercy is what connects technology with the goal and people to progress.
Follow Bill Hit coverage on LinkedIn: Bill Seuiki
Email him: bsiwicki@himss.org
Healthcare is Hosz News.
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