NAME: Janet M. Bingle, MS, RN
CURRENT POSITION: Chief Nursing Officer, Community Health Network
CURRENT AFFILIATION(S): National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, Sigma Theta Tau, American Organization of Nurse Executives, Indiana Organization of Nurse Executives, Clinical Nurse Specialist Foundation
AREA(S) OF SPECIALIZATION: Nursing Care of the Adult
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION: BSN University of Massachusetts School of Nursing Amherst; MS in Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Boston University, Boston
In 2004, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists Executive Board established the Brenda Lyon Leadership Award. This award recognizes an individual who has attained national recognition as a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) leader. Through publications, presentations, and participation in national forums, the individual has helped improve healthcare delivery, especially as it relates to CNS practice. The individual has been successful in mentoring others to become successful leaders. We are pleased to feature in the Profiles Column this year's recipient, Janet Bingle.
What is your definition of leadership?
There is a wonderful quote from Martin Luther King that summarizes my thoughts on leadership: "If you want to move people, it has to be toward a vision that is positive for them, that taps important values, that gets them something they desire, and it has to be presented in a compelling way that they feel inspired to follow." Leadership is about inspiration; it's about connecting the work and the goals to the values and beliefs that folks are passionate about. It's about connecting the dots so that you are getting to the soul of what matters. Inspiring nurses is all about connecting why folks chose nursing as a career. The beliefs and values get clouded by all the chaos in the business of healthcare and nursing services. Leaders need to keep the soul of the work and the passion of the nurse visible.
What does receiving this award mean to you?
Brenda Lyon is exemplar for leadership in the profession of nursing at the local, state, and national levels. Whether she is working on regulatory affairs or helping clients manage the stress in their lives, she is always connecting the dots back to the core of nursing-its work and its outcomes. To receive Brenda Lyon Leadership Award and even suggest that my career is close to her accomplishments is amazing and humbling.
What do you see as the leadership role of the CNS?
Clinical nurse specialists must lead the charge to advance the practice of nursing and to keep it state of the art and evidence-based. There is no other role out there solely committed to this work!
What do you see as the most effective strategies for mentoring a CNS to become a successful leader in today's healthcare arena?
Strategies to mentor a CNS to become successful leaders are numerous. They need opportunities to inspire others and to test and improve their communication and interpersonal skills. Clinical nurse specialists lead through influence; they need exquisite relationship competencies to exert their influence. I can't stress this enough. A CNS can be the brightest person on the team but if the relationships aren't there with the members, the influence falls on deaf ears and the effectiveness for the CNS is reduced to zero.
What first motivated you to become a CNS?
It was 1966. I just graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I was looking for "more." It was a new role in acute care and I wanted to stay at the patient's side. My education at the masters level at Boston University was incredible-evidence-based and totally focused on the science surrounding nursing care. My masters in nursing early in my career gave me an expanded lens through which to view the work of nursing.
What, if any, professional or career issues did you face early in your career as a CNS?
Nobody knew what to do with me or the role when I graduated in 1968. Everyone wanted me to specialize in some part of the human condition when I didn't know enough about the whole human being. I was fortunate to find folks at the Indiana University School of Nursing where I was on the faculty who helped me in that quest.
What do you perceive are the key issues for CNS practice today?
Key issues today deal with return on investment, organizational strategic alignment, and advancing the practice of nursing. The CNS must be able to articulate outcomes and contributions of the organization's success. They must also know and understand nursing so that they can improve the practice and its result and outcomes.
To date, what do you perceive as your greatest accomplishments as a CNS?
Greatest accomplishment is probably having had the opportunity to influence thousands of nurses over the past 40 years through over 500 presentations and workshops on nursing, evidence-based practice, and advanced practice. I believe I made an impact on nurses' thinking about the above.
As an experienced healthcare administrator, what competencies or experiences as a CNS helped you transition to your administration role? Which CNS competencies benefit you most in serving in this capacity?
I know what nursing is; I know its outcomes. I am very articulate and passionate about nursing. I know that one influences through strong, trusting relationships. When I sit at "the table," people listen as I am able to connect the dots and inspire. My conversations are about the connections of nursing care to patient outcomes to financial outcomes to mission.
As a chief nurse executive, what do you enjoy or value most about the role of a CNS in your organization?
Clinical nurse specialists in our organization are always pushing the envelope, raising the bar, asking wicked questions, and probing new boundaries. They are my eyes and ears as they work to acquire one standard of care wherever nursing is practiced in a very large and complex healthcare network.
What advice would you give a new CNS starting out in the role?
Listen, listen, listen. Be relationship centered. Work on your emotional intelligence-self-awareness, self-regulation, social skills, empathy, and motivations. Practice being extremely articulate and concise and always look at the situation from the customer's lens. Focus on the questions asked, not the answers, and keep in mind that the questions asked are a wonderful barometer of the organization's culture.