Covenant nurses on motivating teams during the pandemic
Five nurses share their best advice for leading and motivating a nursing team through the COVID-19 pandemic, among them are three Covenant nurses.
- Connie Gonzales, RN. Nurse Manager, Critical Care at Covenant Medical Center (Lubbock, Texas): It is certainly tough to motivate everyone all the time, but you have to be willing to do whatever you ask each caregiver to do, first and foremost. I also like to ensure nurses have what they need to do their job and then let them do their job while giving them good quality feedback and helping them if they are drowning. I like to give a lot of positive feedback and then give feedback for improvements with kindness and love and keep the patient at the center of all discussions. It is also helpful to celebrate big and small accomplishments as much as possible.
- Shannon Bates RN. Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Nurse Manger at Covenant Children's Hospital (Lubbock, Texas): Get to know your team — personally and professionally. After that, you can articulate a vision that resonates with your people.
- Winter Chambers, RN-BC. Nurse Educator at Covenant Medical Center (Lubbock, Texas): The best leadership tip I have for motivating my team is to remember we are here for the patient. Giving our patients the best possible outcome is the reason we are nurses. Remembering our patient is our driving force to continue forward.