Kate Veenstra, DNP, MSN, RN, CNL, CMSRN, ACM, NEA-BC, was recently appointed as the new chief nursing officer at the University of Michigan Health-West. Her more than 18 years of experience also tells quite a story.
Veenstra started as a bedside nurse at the hospital in 2006 and has held many roles, from associate chief nursing officer to the most recent interim chief nursing officer. Throughout her career, Veenstra has been a champion for her team and patients, leading initiatives that have significantly improved care and productivity.
One of her most notable accomplishments is co-leading a clinical nurse program, which helped to reduce cardiac readmissions and hospital stays. She also participated in a clinical care team during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Daily Nurse named Kate Veenstra the Nurse of the Week for her outstanding contributions. According to Dr. Ronald Grifka, president of UM Health-West, “Kate’s caring nature, innovative mindset, clinical expertise, and commitment to nursing excellence make her the ideal leader for this role.”
Veenstra is passionate about the success of nurses in West Michigan and has been involved in developing the Amy Van Andel Nursing Scholars program, which aims to remove cost barriers for those looking to start their careers in nursing. She has also played a significant role in creating a talent partnership with talent partnership with Grand Rapids Community College and the UM Health-West Foundation.
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
Today is Certified Nurses Day, and the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) is celebrating its over 50,000 “RN-credible” specialty-certified emergency, trauma, transport, and burn nurses and nationally certified nurses in every specialty.
In their 2023 Annual Report, BCEN revealed that over 60,000 BCEN credentials are held by nurses in 28 countries, with over 40,000 RNs possessing the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) credential.
Specialty-certified RNs are truly incredible, according to BCEN’s CEO and American Board of Nursing Specialties Past President Janie Schumaker. When you receive care from a nationally certified emergency, trauma, transport, burn, or other specialty nurse, you know you’re being treated by the best of the best.
Board-certified nurses go above and beyond their nursing license requirements to master advanced knowledge across their specialty, take a rigorous exam to prove it, and commit to staying on top of the latest advances and best practices. This is the kind of nursing care we all want and deserve, and that is worth celebrating!
To recognize and celebrate specialty-certified RNs on BCEN’s Certified Nurses Day page, they offer these free resources and assets:
-Free-to-download “You RN-credible” note card
-Free Nurse Recognition Toolkit for recognizing certified RNs on Certified Nurses Day or any day
-“Nurses RN-credible” t-shirt and stickers.
BCEN is dedicated to supporting nurses throughout their certification and recertification journeys and responding to the needs of their high-achieving community of nurses,” says Schumaker.
In the world of nursing, certifications and their corresponding designations carry with them the concepts of excellence, professionalism, and focused dedication to career growth. Not all nurses pursue certification during their years of service in healthcare, but many hear the call and take inspired action to achieve such a goal.
Making an effort to become certified in your nursing specialty is like doubling down on your skills and knowledge. Doing this takes discipline and forward-thinking, demonstrating that you care enough to show the world that nursing excellence and professional mastery matter.
Every year on March 19th, we celebrate National Certified Nurses Day to honor the nurses who take their careers to the next level by becoming certified. This celebration encourages us to take a moment to acknowledge the role that certification plays in strengthening the nursing profession while improving care and patient outcomes. Being certified is meaningful, and we make meaning by pausing for the cause of reflection and recognition of the nurses who choose this path.
Nursing Certification 101
According to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), the first nursing certification was issued in 1945 to recognize nurse anesthetists. Certification boards began to be created in the 1960s, and the number of available nursing certifications continues to grow to this day.
Many nurses choose to pursue certification of their own volition, while some employers may encourage or even require nurses in specific specialty areas to become certified. Having your employer pay for and support your certification goals can be a desirable benefit, especially if your certification process has a financial cost you’d rather not bear yourself.
A 2021 Journal of Nursing Administration study states, “Nurse specialty certification is ’a mechanism for validation or formal recognition by documenting individual nurses’ knowledge, skills, and abilities specific to their specialty’. It is a form of individual credentialing above and beyond entry-level education and licensing. By pursuing specialty certification, nurses exhibit a commitment to professional growth and lifelong learning while establishing competency in a specialized area of care such as oncology or medical-surgical nursing. The intended outcome of certification in nursing is to improve safety, quality of care, and health outcomes for those using healthcare services.”
No matter what certification you choose to pursue, rest assured that being certified is something to be proud of and to clearly and proudly document on your resume as a mark of nursing distinction and professional mastery.
Why Should You Consider Becoming a Certified Nurse
As mentioned above, certification is a demonstration of dedication to your area of specialty nursing practice. Being certified can serve many purposes and brings with it a variety of benefits, including:
Marketability: Being certified can make you a stronger candidate in the job market, especially if it sets you apart from non-certified applicants for the same positions.
Career mobility: Some employers may value nursing certifications very highly, with certified nurses more likely to advance on the organization’s clinical ladder or into positions of greater responsibility, including nursing leadership.
Respect and recognition: Certification can elicit in others a sense of respect for and recognition of your professionalism, expert knowledge, and skill.
Personal/professional pride: Certification may elicit pride in your expertise, mastery, and accomplishments as a dedicated nurse.
Certification is a feather in your nurse’s cap. It marks you as a nurse focused on career growth and expert skill and knowledge. By being certified, you benefit not only your career but also inspire others to follow in your footsteps and contribute to the improved quality of patient care, not to mention strengthen your employer’s organizational profile.
Certification Speaks Volumes
Having one or more nursing certifications speaks volumes about your professionalism and desire to develop yourself as a nurse of integrity and mastery. Being certified says a great deal about you, and your certifications can enhance your ability to advance your career in any direction you’d like to go.
Some nurses may sit on their laurels and do the bare minimum, while others may seize the day and take every opportunity to develop themselves professionally. Only you can decide if the path to certification is right for you based on your perception of the benefits of certification and the value of that process to your career.
In recognition of Certified Nurses Day, let’s acknowledge those nurses who’ve stepped up to the plate and taken on certification as a prospect worthy of their attention and hard work. And if you’re already certified, give yourself a pat on the back for going the extra mile and showing the world that you’re a nurse who wants to be the best you can be.
While rewarding, nursing is also incredibly demanding, and each shift requires hours of walking, standing, and moving from place to place. In short, the job requires that you have stamina and endurance. If you can’t keep up, then there are strategies you can try to regain your tenacity during those long shifts.
In addition to sleep and a proper work-life balance, another solution is to try out some high-adventure activities like surfing, skiing, and other exciting endeavors. These fun activities can help you relax during your off-time, and many can help during your shift. Here are some facts and tips to consider if you need a little pick-me-up at work.
Nursing Requires Stamina And Endurance
Nursing requires various physical demands, including mastering gross motor skills to move within confined spaces, maintain balance in awkward positions, and reach all directions. Physical strength is also required for lifting children, ambulating patients and supplies, and carrying or moving them around the hospital. All of that effort might be easy during a regular eight-hour shift. However, nurses often work double and even triple shifts.
Studies have shown that many nurses, especially those in emergency rooms and intensive care settings, take thousands of steps throughout the day. The studies also found that nurses who work during the day often take even more steps than nurses working at night. That’s impactful information, especially for nurses working day and night shifts without time off in between. Keeping that endurance for countless hours requires self-care; adventures during off-hours can help.
How High Adventure Hobbies Can Help
Long shifts are often required in nursing, and it’s not always easy to avoid them altogether. Still, during your off time, you should do things you enjoy. Luckily, many of the most fun activities can also help to build your endurance and stamina.
Surfing
Take surfing, which requires strength and patience to stay on the board as you cruise upon the waves. If you enjoy surfing, many exercises can help build your endurance in the ocean and during your nursing shift. One of them is running exercises, which help to improve your lung capacity and strengthen your legs. Push-ups are some of the best exercises nurses can get because they’ll help with your core strength on the surfboard and improve your upper body strength so you can lift that heavy equipment at the hospital for longer.
Skiing
Many nurses may want to hit the slopes and go skiing when winter comes. This activity requires training, and the exercises you use to prepare can also help in nursing. You’ll want a workout regime with a lot of cardio via running, the stair climber, and the elliptical trainer to succeed. All of that helps to condition your lungs and legs for a long day of skiing and being on your feet during a nursing shift. Some studies show that downhill skiing can be particularly helpful for your balance and posture, which can help when reaching and multitasking on the job.
ATV Riding
For a real rush, look around your town for a track where you can ride ATVs up ramps and through valleys. This is yet another activity that can help with endurance on the job. Riding an ATV requires a lot of lifting as you hold on and control the vehicle over rugged roads, and it builds stamina in your legs and arms. When you ride, you’ll feel it in your muscles, and the activity will strengthen them so you can go for longer while on the job. Studies have shown that riding ATVs and off-road motorcycles can improve isometric leg endurance and overall health.
Making Time For Hobbies
This information may seem all well and good, but taking the time to ride an ATV or surfboard with your busy nursing schedule may seem next to impossible. However, that’s only true if you let it be.
There are many ways to improve your work-life balance and make time to include hobbies in your busy lifestyle. A great way to help you say no and ensure you fit in your hobbies is to plan them. Pick a time you’ll go out with your friends and stick to it. Also, set realistic goals. So, if you want to ski for an hour to work on your legs for those longer shifts, plan accordingly.
You may want to work on your exercises but feel like you don’t have time to go to the gym. In that case, consider dedicating a space in your house to fit equipment and make room to stretch. If all else fails, your hospital or office may have a gym you can use.
Remember, your physical hobbies are not only for fun but also for your success on the job, so make them one of your priorities.
Conclusion
If you want to boost your stamina on the job, consider a high-adventure hobby that will help you let loose and improve your physical health. If you haven’t done anything exciting on your off-time, consider a change because the benefits can be great for your well-being.
If you’ve ever dreamed of having a side gig providing in-home patient care, Amanda Truffen, a Registered Palliative Care Nurse at Carpenter Hospice, is already doing just that.
Truffen used to work full-time in her hospice job, but now she works part-time there and spends her other time working in her side gig, TruCare Foot Health.
Truffen took time from her busy schedule to answer our questions about her business. What follows is our interview, edited for length and clarity.
Why did you start your side gig providing foot care for patients in their homes? How did you go about it, and had you worked in foot care before you began your own business?
I love my job at the hospice in my home city, although I found that I needed a plan to supplement my income. Taking advice from my friend, who was a Chiropodist, I went back to school and became certified in Basic and Advanced foot care. This would allow me to provide foot care for diabetic and non-diabetic clients. I called my side gig business TruCare Foot Health.
To get started and build experience in foot care, I worked on my days off for my friend, the chiropodist, in her clinic. This was an amazing opportunity for me. She was there to teach and guide me.
Her suggestion for me was to venture out on my own and provide foot care in client homes.
Many people in the community can’t get to an appointment or don’t want to. Many seniors rely on family to get them to their appointments. If a foot care nurse could go to their home, that would be one less thing they would have to request from them.
How did you know there was a need in the community for your service?
While working at the clinic, I would hear clients mention that they wished someone would come to their homes. It would make things easier for them. My friend was right! There was a need in the community.
I finally decided I was ready, then started spreading the word that I would go to the clients’ homes to provide foot care. A few of my first clients were from the foot clinic.
Some clients were those who had been taking taxis, had vision problems, and had difficulty walking. I also got other clients from the volunteers at the hospice.
I have built up close to 100 clients I see every six weeks. They are all seniors except two middle-aged men who work in construction and have feet that need some TLC. These men can claim their benefits, although coverage is tricky. Clients need to check with their insurance companies. Every policy is different. They may get full coverage, partial, or no coverage at all.
Do you have previous entrepreneurial experience or have you learned on the go?
This is my first experience with my own business. I had no idea what I was doing.
My uncle has a marketing consultancy, and he helped me with my business cards, posters, website, and every other marketing need. I still get compliments on his great work.
What are your most significant rewards of having a side gig?
My business is growing quickly, and I’m glad I did it. I love it. I make my own hours and can take my four kids to appointments and activities.
I also love this new path because I enjoy people—especially seniors. I see the same clients over and over and build relationships with them. They fill me in on their lives and their families’ lives.
When I visit their homes, I feel that I am not just there for foot care. They look forward to having company and building a relationship. It’s more like an experience.
I most enjoy the stories of their lives; they love to reminisce. It’s often a special time with lots of laughs.
I would tell any nurse who enjoys people and makes them feel pampered to start their side gig.
Providing foot care in the comfort of their own home is the way to go. There is a huge need in the community, and once your name is out there, it will just snowball.
Nurse practitioner Judy Vire has dedicated her life to establishing care for patients in rural parts of Central Texas. Her clinic, Kocurek & James, is one of a few providers offering medical care to communities desperate for easier access.
Vire has a master’s degree in nursing, was a nursing educator, and worked in many nursing roles, but she said her love of small-town America and the people there inspires her life’s work.
Daily Nurse proudly names Judy Vire the Nurse of the Week for her dedication to providing access to care to small-town and rural communities and caring for the most vulnerable patients, those who are unable to leave their homes.
Vire and her family settled in Flatonia, where she helped open the Rural Health Clinic in Flatonia and Schulenberg. Medical care is paramount for people in this rural part of Central Texas.
“It’s critical. Without having access to care close to home, people would be commuting into Austin, Katy, Victoria — that’s at least an hour’s drive any way you go,” Vire says. “These small communities depend on having these home-grown clinics close to home for convenience and access to care.”
Vire often makes house calls to the most vulnerable patients who cannot leave their homes.
“Because it’s a rural area, we serve an older population. The 65 and older are our largest population, and they, of course, need the most care,” Vire explains.
Regardless of whether a patient is old or young, Vire believes establishing trust is most important.
“Healthcare is personal. And when you have to tell someone bad news that impacts their lives, that is very personal, and people let you do that and trust you to do that,” she says.
That trust, she says, is why she’s given over 40 years to this career. Throughout her time at the Schulenberg clinic, she has seen generations of families making a daily impact on these communities.
In 2003, Vire was named Nurse Practitioner of the Year, and this year, she’s a Remarkable Woman nominee.
“It feels wonderful, and I was very surprised because there are a whole lot of more remarkable women than myself,” she says.
When asked about her most treasured career accomplishment at this clinic, she said it’s time.
“Maybe it’s longevity,” Vire says. “I can’t believe it’s been 30-some-odd years, and I am still doing this. I am proud of that.”
Nominate a Nurse of the Week! Every Wednesday, DailyNurse.com features a nurse making a difference in the lives of their patients, students, and colleagues. We encourage you to nominate a nurse who has impacted your life as the next Nurse of the Week, and we’ll feature them online and in our weekly newsletter.
