Karen Keady, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, stepped into her new role as VUMC System Chief Nursing Officer on July 1. In this interview, she covered several key topics, including her leadership style and vision, technology and innovation, work-life balance, shadowing, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Can you describe your leadership style?
It’s collaborative leadership. I rarely will make decisions in isolation or autocratically. I had to do that some during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it felt very awkward. We work in an environment with professional practice and shared governance. All nurses have a voice in their practice, and their input is important. I typically work through leadership groups to ensure we come to a decision we can all agree on.
Can you describe a pivotal moment you experienced that shaped your leadership style?
When the COVID-19 pandemic first began at my previous position at University of Rochester Medical Center, we had a critical need to serve adult patients, but we didn’t have a lot of pediatric patients in our children’s hospital. We made the unusual decision to begin caring for adult patients in our children’s hospital. That allowed us to take care of our patients and ensure our pediatric nurses continued to be employed. This was a pivotal, definitional leadership moment for me because it required a creative solution to be implemented quickly to best serve our patients and families as well as our employees.
What excites you most about leading nursing at VUMC?
When I was interviewing at VUMC, I was impressed with the innovation here and the willingness to take risks. It was the mentality that we’re not going to wait until this is tested somewhere else; we’re going to try it ourselves. That is the mark of an incredible academic medical center, one that also has community and regional hospitals. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead in such an innovative and creative place.
What are some of your top priorities for your first year?
My top priority is understanding the Vanderbilt culture and the individual contributions of each part of the health system, from the main campus to the regional hospitals. Then, it’s understanding how to optimize that relationship, with an eye toward digital health, technology and innovation in nursing. We need to understand which care delivery models will bring us into the future and assess workforce stability.
How do you see technology transforming the nursing profession?
There’s a lot of talk about artificial intelligence and how AI is going to impact clinicians. Some people are afraid of that and wonder if that will replace them or if fewer jobs will be available. I absolutely am a huge fan of optimizing technology and figuring out ways that it can help us work smarter and more efficiently, but also deliver top-notch care to our patients. There are a lot of ways we are using AI right now that we might not even realize. So, AI is not replacing anything. If anything, it’s going to help the nurse function at a level not seen before, and that’s exciting.
How do you encourage lifelong learning in the nursing profession?
The primary way I encourage lifelong learning is by role modeling. For example, I obtained my PhD while working as a nursing leader, and it took me seven years. I think you can show people that you can work full-time and go to school. I want to be the kind of leader that allows people the flexibility to reach their professional and academic goals, being creative with scheduling. I want to make sure I’m communicating the opportunities that are out there, identifying resources and being creative to help people reach their goals.
What does work-life balance mean to you, and how do you prioritize your well-being while managing the demands of a leadership role?
I think a better term is work-life integration. Work and life are going to ebb and flow. What is important is to prioritize what is most important and approach it with flexibility. I make time to exercise at 5 in the morning. It’s a good time when nobody else is up. I think you need to give yourself permission to take time for yourself, enjoy your vacations, and don’t spend all weekend answering emails. I want to respect your personal time, and I want to lead by example.
Could you share your thoughts on the importance of preserving and honoring the contributions of those who have paved the way for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in our organization?
We need to make sure we continue to be very intentional not only about our history, but also our intentions for the future and the structures that we are going to continue or put in place. With our diverse workforce, we can’t rest on our words. DEI must be at the forefront of our strategic planning of how we recruit and retain our workforce. At the end of the day, it is about the environment we create.
What aspects of VUMC’s current DEI efforts do you find most inspiring or impactful?
The fact that we have a role devoted to Nurse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I think Vanderbilt is leading the way in this area.
What kinds of insights do you gain when shadowing staff nurses?
My style when I come into an organization is to be able to see and feel the things that people don’t tell you. I can talk to leaders all day, but I want to get a better understanding from the staff nurse perspective. Why did they come here to work? Why do they stay? What keeps them coming back every day, especially during hard times? What motivates them? I want to understand what systems we have in place that are working, so I can keep them in place. I also want to understand the barriers to delivering excellent patient care, and work on those. When I arrive at one of our facilities, I may just sit in the lobby and listen to conversations from our staff and patients for a while before meeting with leadership. I want to get the vibe of the place.
