Building resilience: Leading through trauma in nursing

Title : Building resilience: Leading through trauma in nursing

Abstract:

Nurses work through frequent, and often unrecognized, mental and physical challenges as part of their dedication to the profession. This level of dedication can often create patients out of nurses, and unmet expectations from our initial view of what it means to be a nurse. It’s vital to remind nurses, and teach students, that self-care is equally important; it’s essential (and ok) to ask for help when needed. Healthcare leaders must be proactive vs. reactive when providing support for frontline clinicians as part of their strategic plan and quality review process. Covid allowed open vulnerabilities and more visualization into an already fragile system of expecting super skills and dedication from nurses without full support of their needs. What is your role as a leader in strengthening the nursing workforce.

In this session, we will begin to discuss building resilience in nursing teams, and why it’s important. Has your leadership type changed in the last few years during the pandemic. You will be challenged to recognize your current preparedness to lead nursing staff through internal and external stressors, challenges, and potential cumulative trauma. There will be situational case presentations of unexpected, and often unrecognized sources of stressors, in hopes of acknowledging and diminishing future trauma and building a resilient nursing team.

By the end of the session, you will be more familiar with your current leadership type, and how to recognize the varied sources of stress, contributing lived experience/ trauma that may affect your ability to lead, and how to create support systems to build resilience in nursing teams.

Biography:

Dr. Geiger is the Chief Nursing Officer at Ingenovis Health where she leads the clinical team and the Advocacy, Career, and Tools (ACT) Program. She is board-certified as a Nurse Executive and Nurse Practitioner. She maintains clinical privileges as a co-founder and owner of a concierge-based health clinic for the uninsured. Dr. Geiger serves on multiple advisory boards, including American College of Education Nursing Advisory Board, Member of Board of Directors of National Diversity Council, and she is Chair of the Chief Nurse Advisory Board for Ingenovis Health. She was honored with the Candace Smith Award for Excellence in Nursing Leadership from the Florida Organization of Nursing Leadership (FONL) and named a national Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Influencer by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). She has served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for National University, Vice President of Clinical Services/ Chief Privacy Officer for Muscular Dystrophy Assoc., and Head Nurse for Veterans Affairs Community Care. She has published and presented on multiple healthcare topics internationally. She is passionate about clinician advocacy and wellbeing, health equity, and mentorship. She resides in Florida with her family.