Shift Change - Nursing in a World Outside of Your Control with Tim Guest

Nursing in a World Outside of Your Control with Tim Guest

03/16/20 • 61 min

Tim Guest is the President-elect of the Canadian Nurses Association.

Tim is a Registered Nurse with a BScN from the University of Alberta and a Master of Business Administration in Executive Management with Specialization in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Tim has over 28 years of experience in the Canadian health care system, from clinician to senior executive, in Alberta and Nova Scotia including rural, urban and academic/tertiary settings.

Tim’s portfolios have included program responsibility for Medicine, Emergency, Critical Care, Trauma, Ambulatory Care, Surgical Services, Pathology/Laboratory, Endoscopy, Diagnostic Imaging, Mental Health, Maternal/Child services, Rehabilitation, Pastoral Care, Home Care and Population health, and access and flow.

Tim is an accreditation surveyor with Accreditation Canada. He has also been a board member of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, and College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, and has an adjunct appointment with the Dalhousie University School of Nursing.

Episode Highlights

We start by talking about Tim’s nursing journey which began in small town rural Alberta and took him places he couldn’t have imagined before exploring:

The difference in the experience and trajectory of being a male in a primarily female dominated industry
How to navigate career changes outside of your control (layoffs, position eliminations)
What everyday leadership actually looks like
A plan of action in nurses seeking national or provincial leadership roles
Ways to be political engaged as a nurse
How to shake the “Just a Nurse: mentality
What issues or social justice platforms nurses can collectively put their voices behind

Key Points

Don’t back away from a challenge
There’s never going to be a perfect time
Grab hold of what fundamentally moves you and use it as a catalyst to get you involved with the world

Tim Guest is the President-elect of the Canadian Nurses Association.

Tim is a Registered Nurse with a BScN from the University of Alberta and a Master of Business Administration in Executive Management with Specialization in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Tim has over 28 years of experience in the Canadian health care system, from clinician to senior executive, in Alberta and Nova Scotia including rural, urban and academic/tertiary settings.

Episode Highlights

We start by talking about Tim’s nursing journey which began in small town rural Alberta and took him places he couldn’t have imagined before exploring:

The difference in the experience and trajectory of being a male in a primarily female dominated industry
How to navigate career changes outside of your control (layoffs, position eliminations)
What everyday leadership actually looks like
A plan of action in nurses seeking national or provincial leadership roles
Ways to be political engaged as a nurse
How to shake the “Just a Nurse: mentality
What issues or social justice platforms nurses can collectively put their voices behind

Key Points

Don’t back away from a challenge
There’s never going to be a perfect time
Grab hold of what fundamentally moves you and use it as a catalyst to get you involved with the world

Previous Episode

Every Nurse a Leader with Carolyn Hoffman

Carolyn Hoffman is a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Masters in Nursing who has senior leadership experience in hospital operations, provincial government, nursing regulation and quality improvement in healthcare; all with a focus on patient safety. She was most recently the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association and was previously the SVP, Quality & Healthcare Improvement for Alberta Health Services, the largest health region in the country.

In 2004, Carolyn was one of the first employees of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute where she was Director of Operations (Ontario to British Columbia). Her key responsibilities included internal lead for the development and launch of the Safer Healthcare Now! National Campaign. Carolyn is a co-author of the Tool for the Concise Analysis of Patient Safety Incidents (2016), Canadian Incident Analysis Framework (2012); the lead author of the 2008 consultation paper on the Development of a Canadian Adverse Event Reporting and Learning System; and co-author of the Canadian Root Cause Analysis Framework (2006) as well as the Canadian Patient Safety Dictionary (2003). Her current role is President and Chief Executive Office for the Institute for the Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP).

Episode Highlights

We start by talking about the beginning of her nursing career and that ‘first tap on the shoulder’ that lead her to education before exploring:

Her expanding awareness of systems for patient safety that became a passion and driving force for the rest of her career
The educator role and how to approach finding roles for yourself in that sphere
What’s required and the day-to-day in working in patient safety
The importance of having a support network
The right attitude for change in the nurses’ career and the nursing profession

Key Points

1. Ask questions 2. It is essential that you know and believe in yourself and take forward your experience, education and intention forward with confidence 3. Be as authentic and engaged in the patient-client relationship as you can

For full show notes go to http://nurseleaders.ca/podcast

Next Episode

Coffee Break #3 Gratitude and Appreciation

Today we are talking about the importance as leaders, and frankly as human beings, of gratitude and appreciation. A few years ago this quote really stood out to me: what if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you were grateful for today?

We have the ability to change our brains and our mindset when we prioritize gratitude. I talk about how I did it, how it’s impacted my life, and how you can do it also.

For journal prompts go to http://nurseleaders.ca/podcast