Episode 12 - Change, RN
February 17, 2025
About This Episode
Nurses can make a positive impact on patient care and the profession of nursing, no matter where they work or how far along in their career they are. In this episode of Better RN, hosts Alyssa Saklak, BSN, RN, CMSRN, and Laurin Henderson, BSN, RN, CMSRN, talk to Amy Druml, vice president and chief nurse executive at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, about her path from a patient care tech to a leadership role and her many stops along the way. Amy offers valuable advice to nurses looking to change or grow their careers throughout the many stages of life — and proves that the small changes you may make at the bedside can have an impact beyond your unit and even hospital.
" I feel like we focus so much on ‘what is the next step?’ that we forget to live in the current step. So, I always tell people to have one foot in both buckets. Focus on where you're at now and then keep in mind where you think you might want to go and how you can leverage it."
Show Notes
Episode Guests
Amy Druml MSN, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CMSRN
Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital
Nurses can make a positive impact on patient care and the profession of nursing, no matter where they work or how far along in their career they are. In this episode of Better RN, hosts Alyssa Saklak, BSN, RN, CMSRN, and Laurin Henderson, BSN, RN, CMSRN, talk to Amy Druml, vice president and chief nurse executive at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, about her path from a patient care tech to a leadership role and her many stops along the way. Amy offers valuable advice to nurses looking to change or grow their careers throughout the many stages of life — and proves that the small changes you may make at the bedside can have an impact beyond your unit and even hospital.
" I feel like we focus so much on ‘what is the next step?’ that we forget to live in the current step. So, I always tell people to have one foot in both buckets. Focus on where you're at now and then keep in mind where you think you might want to go and how you can leverage it."
- Amy Druml, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CMSRN
Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital
Show Notes
- Amy has been part of what is now Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital since she was a college student. She started her career as a patient care tech and after graduation took her first nurse role in the telemetry unit — a unique opportunity in the late 90s. While learning the specifics of her role, Amy was always drawn to leadership positions.
- After establishing her career, Amy went into “mom mode” and had two children and went from full-time to part-time to casual nursing roles, embracing the flexibility that nursing offered as she focused on her young children. After her youngest child started kindergarten she pursued a master’s degree with an interest in education and leadership. In a full-circle moment, Amy went back to the telemetry unit, where her career began, in a leadership position with a deep understanding of the operational side of health care, which helped her approach her role from a new lens.
- She says it is important to have goals while staying present in the current phase of your career. She advocates for nurses joining professional organizations, attending and presenting at conferences and networking with others in the field to learn and grow.
- Amy emphasizes how Northwestern Medicine offers nurses opportunities for growth without needing to leave the organization. For example, she explains that new nurses in Northwestern Medicine's suburban hospitals often transfer to roles on the Chicago campus for a different lifestyle experience. But she says career changes can also take place within the same setting. Amy explains that she went from a bedside nurse to an IT role and eventually into leadership, all within the same hospital.
Episode Guests
Amy Druml MSN, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CMSRN
Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital
transcript
[00:00:00] Alyssa Saklak, BSN, RN, CMSRN: I'm Alyssa Saklak
[00:00:06] Laurin Henderson, BSN, RN, CMSRN: and I'm Laurin Henderson
[00:00:08] Saklak: on Better RN, we get real about nursing,
[00:00:11] Henderson: the good and the gritty.
[00:00:12] Saklak: We talk to real healthcare experts
[00:00:15] Henderson: with the goal of becoming better
[00:00:17] Saklak: for our patients, our colleagues
[00:00:18] Henderson: our family, our friends,
[00:00:20] Saklak: our partners, and ourselves.
[00:00:28] Saklak: Hey, Laurin.
[00:00:29] Henderson: Hey.
[00:00:30] Saklak: Are we excited to talk to our next guest on the podcast?
[00:00:35] Henderson: I am excited. We're talking to Amy Druml today. She is the vice president and the new chief nurse executive at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, one of the regional hospitals within the Northwestern Medicine system. You and I presented at the AONL conference, the Academy of Nurse Leaders annual conference last year on this podcast, actually, Amy was in the fellowship with some of our colleagues here at Northwestern Medicine. We met her there. She had just started her role as the new chief nurse. And I sort of jokingly was like, “Oh, we'll have to have you on the podcast.” She was like, “That's OK. I've really only been the chief nurse for like two weeks!” But here we are nine months later and we're talking to her, which is kind of cool.
[00:01:17] Saklak: I love that connection. Excited to talk to her because I don't really know her background story or how she got involved in nursing and got to the position that she's in, but I'm inspired already from what you've shared with me.
[00:01:29] Henderson: She has a really interesting story and has done so many different things that I think will resonate with a lot of our listeners who maybe are struggling to find where they belong in nursing. I think speaking to Amy, you'll understand that maybe you belong everywhere. Maybe you just need to try out a lot of different things. Whether it's serving on a committee, on your unit, or becoming a member of a professional organization, there really are so many ways to make a difference, both at the bedside and within the nursing profession.
[00:01:55] Saklak: I think that's why you and I both went towards developing this podcast because we wanted to create a difference and a change and utilized a conference to share how we did that so that other hospitals can learn. And we continue to learn and implement those here at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
[00:02:11] Henderson: And Amy has definitely found ways to enact positive change on patient care and also in the nursing profession. So I'm really excited to speak with her. Welcome, Amy, to the podcast.
[00:02:22] Amy Druml, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CMSRN: Well, thank you for having me.
[00:02:23] Henderson: Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career within nursing and how did you get to where you are now as the chief nurse at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital?
[00:02:32] Druml: Sure. So, I have a very community-based story. I really started as a patient care tech here at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital. I was doing my prerequisites at our community college, McHenry County College. At that time, McHenry County College did not have a nursing program, but they had an agreement with Elgin Community College. And that is where I did my undergrad work as I was working at the hospital as a patient care tech. I was able to start as a new grad on the same unit that I was working as. And at that time, it was the late 90s, and new grads usually didn't start on specialty units. And so I was really honored and excited about starting on our elemetry Unit after that, I quickly enrolled in my bachelor's program at NIU, so Northern Illinois University, and did that while I was starting my first couple years as a nurse after I got my bachelor's degree, I was quickly being a preceptor on our unit and got involved in shared governance and everything nursing. A lot of mentors, a lot of people that were really encouraging me to grow. I've always been a person who's liked being involved in leadership, so that really made sense to me. After I got my bachelor's, I went into mom mode. I have two kids and went from full time to part time to casual to back to part time. So nursing was obviously very perfect for me because of that flexibility at that time. When my youngest went to kindergarten, I went back and got my master's and knew I wanted more. So, I started my master's program through University of Phoenix Online as my kids were in school. And after I completed that, my focus was education. I really thought I'd end up teaching at a university. And I did have the opportunity to try that. I was a clinical instructor at our community college and at Northern Illinois University as well. But realized that I really liked the hospital aspect a little bit more. I got involved being an educator, actually had a little stint in IT, realized that wasn't really what my passion was. So it's really great to be able to try things and then move. I spent a lot of time in professional development as a manager, as a director, really supporting professional development and the profession of nursing. And then I realized that I was really missing a component of my career, and that was really operational leadership. We were doing some changes after we merged with Northwestern, and I wanted to take an opportunity to really do that. Take a step back at some more operational experience because I knew I really wanted to focus on leadership and I thought that I was missing something. Fortunately, there was a position that opened up on the Cardiac Telemetry Unit, the unit that I started as a patient care tech and then as a new grad. So I was excited to be a leader on that unit. And then after about two and a half years, the opportunity opened up to apply for the chief nurse position. And here I am.
[00:05:25] Henderson: What a full circle sort of career path and journey that you've had to finish your operations experience on the same unit that you started on. That's kind of cool.
[00:05:34] Druml: It was fun.
[00:05:34] Saklak: It's like bingo of nursing.
[00:05:36] Henderson: I was.
[00:05:37] Saklak: Every space is covered.
[00:05:38] Henderson: You've done everything, instructor, education, manager, director, IT, PCT. What was your favorite, you've had a lot of eras of nursing, what was your favorite nursing era? you don't have to say your chief nurse position, you can say something else.
[00:05:52] Druml: Well, of course, the cliché experiences. Everything was special for a different reason, right? But I think I really enjoyed, when we were in the professional development, my transition from a manager to a director role. It really started as sort of a two or three people in our team and then quickly expanded. So there was a lot of growth, a lot of opportunities, really dynamic people that we were working with, working on our Magnet® journey at McHenry at the time. So there was a lot of excitement and advancement that was probably a really cool honestly, coming full circle back to the telemetry unit as a manager, I don't think anything could have really topped that because I was able to see things from a different lens and able to take each experience that I've had, To make the connection as to why somebody might have asked me for this information or why I took this approach to solving a problem. And it was really all of the experiences that came together to really allow me to excel in that. So that was a real fun era for me too.
[00:06:56] Henderson: Yeah. I think about how Alyssa and I started together on 15 West and now I manage 15 East, Alyssa left and did professional development for a little while and now is back on 16 West. We always come back to medicine. You've done a lot of different things in your life within the nursing field. What kind of advantages do you think that has given you to help you get to the point where you are now? I have a lot of conversations with people who maybe think the bedside isn't really their passion. I'm like, that's OK. There are a million different things you can do with nursing, but it doesn't feel like the traditional path. So, can you speak a little bit to how that has sort of influenced how you've ended up in this position now?
[00:07:35] Druml: One of the biggest things that I tell people is to first be in the moment. When I was a clinical nurse, I got involved in the medical surgical organizations and focused on learning that at the time. Sometimes I feel like we focus so much on the next step that we forget to live in the current step. So, I always tell people to kind of have one foot in both buckets, right? One focus on where you're at now and then keep in mind where you think you might want to go and how that can leverage it. So I really made sure that I was present in the current steps so that I could be the best at the next step.
[00:08:11] Saklak: It reminds me of the quote, like, “Don't miss good on the way to perfection or great.” Sometimes it's right in front of you. And so many times we're like always trying to develop to that next step, which is right. It's in our name. We're Northwestern Medicine. Better. So it's always like, OK, how do I exist in the current, but also look at ways to improve. How do you feel like that's translated as the chief nurse with knowing where you've been and what you've done as a nurse, what are some of those challenges maybe that you see with professional development and growth and change with the current staff? And what are ways that you've maybe approached to help inspire nurses to grow and to change and to try new things. I think each hospital has different challenges. What are some of the challenges that you are seeing with the staff in professional development or growth or, looking at career opportunities?
[00:08:59] Druml: I find that there's so many competing priorities, and everybody is trying to balance what is for them at the time. The most important for me is to truly listen and to share experiences or to even say, “I know where you're coming from,” or “I hear you.” I understand what you're saying. And then try to give the real-life experiences that I've had to help them grow. Some of the things that I think of is the challenges that we face with staffing, you know, you have the financial aspect with, quality aspect, all of the keys that are coming together to make sure that we're taking care of our patients in the safest manner, but there are true challenges that exist. So, listening to people and trying to be creative, trying to think outside of the box, trying to help the teams, by really being present and trying to be innovative, reading different trends, staying on top of what the literature is saying. Stating that we should be looking to the future to try to make things better for our teams. It is not an easy environment that we're working in, but there's a lot of challenges that lead to rewards. We wouldn't be here if there weren't the rewards that were associated with it. So really trying to find the better in what we're doing every day.
[00:10:16] Saklak: Do you feel like there's things that you've learned along your leadership development story that has helped you gain that perspective or experiences that helped prepare you for this challenging workforce that we're in and some of the, the major healthcare challenges we face in our country?
[00:10:32] Druml: I really feel that I've had some great mentors along the way and also great teammates, great co-workers, just as you guys have shared about your experiences together. It's the relationships that have really leveraged my path and being able to take advantage of those. I learned from each of the chief nurses, learned from managers. As I round and talk to staff members, I'm always open to hearing what they have to say or what we need to focus on to make improvements for our team.
[00:10:59] Saklak: I'm always curious when the chief nurses get together to discuss the different problems. I think all of us would love to be a fly on the wall. What is it really like? What are the topics? Are you all experiencing similar things, differences? I mean, we're a huge system, but I think we're still very close in how we practice as nurses and what we stand by in our nurse attributes. But I'm curious, are there challenges that, you know, you feel like your team may experience that others aren't? Or is it usually pretty similar grounds?
[00:11:29] Druml: There are some things that are definitely universal, and we're all working on them together, but there's also things that come up. One of the leaders might have tackled last year, or last quarter. I can use an example.
[00:11:42] Saklak: At the summit, I was talking with the Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital chief nurse, and she was sharing some work they were doing regarding falls for fall improvement. And I took that back to our Falls Committee and our Falls team, and we implemented with some modifications, some of the tools that she had shared that they were doing, so it was an opportunity of networking, sharing. We always want to help each other, and we have so many nurses within our system that have come up with great ideas. Are we needing to completely reinvent something that exists somewhere and just needs to be modified for your team? I think that's cool to think about how, at the bedside, I can create a change and how it could impact other hospitals even beyond just mine and beyond my unit. And that's like an exact way that we try to inspire and engage our nurses to show how, like, what we do makes such a difference, and I'm sure you've experienced that within your own professional development. What different stages or platforms have helped you kind of share the success stories or projects you've done, what advice would you give to maybe nurses who are growing and learning to really showcase that work?
[00:12:50] Druml: Well, one of the first things that I would say is to really join your professional organization. Oftentimes, it's not very pricey to get involved, and there's a lot of resources that go along with that. Sometimes, being a member of a professional organization might seem overwhelming, or as you're a new grad, you're focused on what are the first things that you need to do, like get through orientation. How do I really better myself from there? But if you join the professional organization, a lot of times their resources are somewhat handed to you to point you into the right direction. So that would be the first thing I would say and that's part of the live in the moment, right? Wherever you're at right now, be the best person you can at that level so that you know what to do from the next steps. Conferences are amazing. As Lauren had mentioned, we met at the AONL Conference and we're talking there. Conferences are a great way to network with people, to learn from each other. Sometimes the best thing occurs standing in line or sitting in a session, thinking about what the session might be there for, and so you start talking to the person next to you and before you know it, you've solved the problems because you've shared what you're working on together. Some of the things that really impactful is when you are at a conference and you apply to be a presenter or apply for either a podium or a poster, and you're selected, and that's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I know of many people that I've nudged along, and they're excited because they've reached the next step, but then they're like, oh boy, this really means I have to stand in front of thousands of people and tell what we did. But I had mentors who nudged me along those ways and, really supportive of myself. And I've had an opportunity to present at conferences and be a poster presenter and when you start taking advantages of those things that happen as far as organizations, you really realize how amazing nursing is and how you are a part of this amazing journey you just want to help each other. And when someone starts talking to you about the topic of your poster and they'll start telling you about their challenges at their organization or how they think this is going to work or wouldn't work. And before you know it, you might be helping them problem solve for something in 10 states away. So it's really neat. It's scary at the same point, but the organizations, there's so many different platforms out there for you to do it. The best thing is to find a buddy and journey on with them because that is really powerful and fun.
[00:15:22] Henderson: I think one of my favorite nursing memories thus far has been presenting on this podcast actually at AONL last year with Alyssa. So I found my buddy.
[00:15:34] Saklak: We're like sitting down doing the application together and, like, what's next steps? And, you know, getting on the calls together really does help when you have someone else to, to go through those foreign experiences, together and, and learn together. And, yeah, I think we walked away from that session and we were like, oh, this is exactly what we needed. And I'm so inspired. I think it's the sense of community when you're surrounded by other people who are all committed to solving the same problems that they're experiencing. That is so uplifting. I think there's a lot of, why, what is it going to do for me to join a professional organization? But kind of how you mentioned, Amy, it's going to be as good as you make it, right? If you choose to involve yourself and attend these conferences, you're going to get something out of it, but if you are begrudgingly joining a professional organization because it's the right thing to do, it's not going to do anything for you. So you sort of have to go out and seek those opportunities on your own, which I think are the people that we're trying to speak to, are new graduate nurses. And so for them to understand the why is. Because you all want to see change, so you have to get out there and you have to get involved. Thinking back to your career, what was like a change that you implemented based off a role that you were involved in? Can you think of any experiences that can help others? Maybe think about what that change would look like serving as a chair or something on your unit that you did?
[00:16:56] Druml: So one of the things that I recall as being pretty impactful is some of our nurses. attended a session that they learned about basically a night shift council. They were able to bring that back from a conference and figure out how we could work that into our shared leadership structure. And, obviously did some modifications, but that's a council that we still have today. It's a small, but I feel mighty, council and very impactful. The Night Shift team doesn't always feel like they have a voice. That's one of the things that I always think of when people say, “How can I take something that I learned at a conference and bring it here?” Most of the time when you have something from a conference or reading an article or partnering with something that you've heard somebody else doing that was successful, you’re going to get a different excitement level, like yeah, they just did this lets figure out how to do it. We can make this work too.
[00:17:48] Saklak: I feel like that's been a common theme in my experience too, and I loved the example of the Night Shift Committee. I think sometimes we think of change as being this huge, robust project, and sometimes it's the quick wins. And it's the small changes implementations that don't require a ton of work that can sometimes lead to success and positive changes. I appreciate when we're able to share that because I think storytelling and sharing is the best way that we're going to learn and grow from one another. Taking that first step is sometimes the hardest thing to do. So, I love that. Thank you for sharing it.
[00:18:02] Druml: Of course.
[00:18:21] Henderson: Amy, what would you say your, what's your specialty? Like if someone asks what kind of nurse you are, what would you say?
[00:18:27] Druml: I would say leadership, but also development. because that's always brought me the biggest joy watching others grow, whatever way that may be. It's been something present throughout my entire career. I was a preceptor as a patient care tech, so I feel like I became a leader and a mentor and developer in that role. It's been a constant through each of my roles. So I would say leadership and development, really supporting people. Its, you know, it has rang true in my current role. I love working with other leaders, directors, or managers or clinical nurses who might come to me and ask how I do the next step?
[00:19:00] Henderson: I love that in a leader. I think that's exactly the type of people that we need leading in large organizations.
[00:19:11] Saklak: Well, and I think you highlight that each person's going to have a different motivation and a different thing that inspires them and like how can we find that and help connect them to whatever that journey looks like for them. And I think at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, we really do try to find the path. If it's not here in our own backyard, it's what other area can we help connect you to, which provides so many opportunities for people. As we sit here downtown talking to you and McHenry, again, I, I think we're always trying to find ways to stay connected and to use the resources like you said, but, meeting people where they're at is so important. A lot of our leaders do a great job of demonstrating that and doing that to help uplift, you know, the future generations to come in nursing and nursing leadership.
[00:19:57] Druml: I also think that you pointed out something really important: We have community hospitals. We have the academic medical center. We can do heavy research. We can really work in the community setting. Wherever you need to be at that moment. Like I had mentioned that I took my mom-journey portion of my nursing career. There's definitely people who might start, and we find this a lot, that we'll have nurses start. They are living with mom and dad at home. They might do that for a couple years and have a little money in their pocket and decide that they want to have a little adventure. And so they'll say, I want to look to see what's available for me downtown. Fortunately, we have that. They're not losing their seniority by taking advantage of a new opportunity. Sometimes that might be hard on a unit if you have somebody leaving after two years but we allow those experiences. We want people to grow. And it's really neat that we're able to do that within the same system and give people those opportunities. So they don't necessarily have to leave Northwestern Medicine, I mean, we'd love everybody to end up staying forever, right? But, take the different things from the different paths and grow still.
[00:21:08] Henderson: let's close with what is your final piece of advice to someone who maybe is not happy with where they're at or who is struggling to be in the moment? What would you say to that person that came to you for help?
[00:21:21] Druml: I think I would ask them, think about what made you go into health care to begin with. What was your why, really? Find out why you started this. Sometimes people forget. They get so caught up in where they're at. What's inhibiting their why? Is it their environment? Is it their current role? Is it something that's happening outside of health care that they need to take care of themselves for their wellness, figure out why and ask if you're giving it your all. And I really think that we need to make sure that we are giving it our all before we think that other people, you know, we need to count on ourselves instead of other people to constantly be the ones that are pulling us along. We need to be willing to step up and take those opportunities that exist.
[00:22:03] Henderson: Amy, this was such an awesome conversation. It was lovely to chat with you again. We appreciate your time, and thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Better RN.
[00:22:12] Druml: Thank you. I had a blast.
[00:22:14] Henderson: Thank you for listening. Please follow us wherever you get your podcasts and rate and review the show.
[00:22:23] Saklak: We'd love to hear your comments and any topics you might want us to explore.
[00:00:06] Laurin Henderson, BSN, RN, CMSRN: and I'm Laurin Henderson
[00:00:08] Saklak: on Better RN, we get real about nursing,
[00:00:11] Henderson: the good and the gritty.
[00:00:12] Saklak: We talk to real healthcare experts
[00:00:15] Henderson: with the goal of becoming better
[00:00:17] Saklak: for our patients, our colleagues
[00:00:18] Henderson: our family, our friends,
[00:00:20] Saklak: our partners, and ourselves.
[00:00:28] Saklak: Hey, Laurin.
[00:00:29] Henderson: Hey.
[00:00:30] Saklak: Are we excited to talk to our next guest on the podcast?
[00:00:35] Henderson: I am excited. We're talking to Amy Druml today. She is the vice president and the new chief nurse executive at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, one of the regional hospitals within the Northwestern Medicine system. You and I presented at the AONL conference, the Academy of Nurse Leaders annual conference last year on this podcast, actually, Amy was in the fellowship with some of our colleagues here at Northwestern Medicine. We met her there. She had just started her role as the new chief nurse. And I sort of jokingly was like, “Oh, we'll have to have you on the podcast.” She was like, “That's OK. I've really only been the chief nurse for like two weeks!” But here we are nine months later and we're talking to her, which is kind of cool.
[00:01:17] Saklak: I love that connection. Excited to talk to her because I don't really know her background story or how she got involved in nursing and got to the position that she's in, but I'm inspired already from what you've shared with me.
[00:01:29] Henderson: She has a really interesting story and has done so many different things that I think will resonate with a lot of our listeners who maybe are struggling to find where they belong in nursing. I think speaking to Amy, you'll understand that maybe you belong everywhere. Maybe you just need to try out a lot of different things. Whether it's serving on a committee, on your unit, or becoming a member of a professional organization, there really are so many ways to make a difference, both at the bedside and within the nursing profession.
[00:01:55] Saklak: I think that's why you and I both went towards developing this podcast because we wanted to create a difference and a change and utilized a conference to share how we did that so that other hospitals can learn. And we continue to learn and implement those here at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
[00:02:11] Henderson: And Amy has definitely found ways to enact positive change on patient care and also in the nursing profession. So I'm really excited to speak with her. Welcome, Amy, to the podcast.
[00:02:22] Amy Druml, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC, CMSRN: Well, thank you for having me.
[00:02:23] Henderson: Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career within nursing and how did you get to where you are now as the chief nurse at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital?
[00:02:32] Druml: Sure. So, I have a very community-based story. I really started as a patient care tech here at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital. I was doing my prerequisites at our community college, McHenry County College. At that time, McHenry County College did not have a nursing program, but they had an agreement with Elgin Community College. And that is where I did my undergrad work as I was working at the hospital as a patient care tech. I was able to start as a new grad on the same unit that I was working as. And at that time, it was the late 90s, and new grads usually didn't start on specialty units. And so I was really honored and excited about starting on our elemetry Unit after that, I quickly enrolled in my bachelor's program at NIU, so Northern Illinois University, and did that while I was starting my first couple years as a nurse after I got my bachelor's degree, I was quickly being a preceptor on our unit and got involved in shared governance and everything nursing. A lot of mentors, a lot of people that were really encouraging me to grow. I've always been a person who's liked being involved in leadership, so that really made sense to me. After I got my bachelor's, I went into mom mode. I have two kids and went from full time to part time to casual to back to part time. So nursing was obviously very perfect for me because of that flexibility at that time. When my youngest went to kindergarten, I went back and got my master's and knew I wanted more. So, I started my master's program through University of Phoenix Online as my kids were in school. And after I completed that, my focus was education. I really thought I'd end up teaching at a university. And I did have the opportunity to try that. I was a clinical instructor at our community college and at Northern Illinois University as well. But realized that I really liked the hospital aspect a little bit more. I got involved being an educator, actually had a little stint in IT, realized that wasn't really what my passion was. So it's really great to be able to try things and then move. I spent a lot of time in professional development as a manager, as a director, really supporting professional development and the profession of nursing. And then I realized that I was really missing a component of my career, and that was really operational leadership. We were doing some changes after we merged with Northwestern, and I wanted to take an opportunity to really do that. Take a step back at some more operational experience because I knew I really wanted to focus on leadership and I thought that I was missing something. Fortunately, there was a position that opened up on the Cardiac Telemetry Unit, the unit that I started as a patient care tech and then as a new grad. So I was excited to be a leader on that unit. And then after about two and a half years, the opportunity opened up to apply for the chief nurse position. And here I am.
[00:05:25] Henderson: What a full circle sort of career path and journey that you've had to finish your operations experience on the same unit that you started on. That's kind of cool.
[00:05:34] Druml: It was fun.
[00:05:34] Saklak: It's like bingo of nursing.
[00:05:36] Henderson: I was.
[00:05:37] Saklak: Every space is covered.
[00:05:38] Henderson: You've done everything, instructor, education, manager, director, IT, PCT. What was your favorite, you've had a lot of eras of nursing, what was your favorite nursing era? you don't have to say your chief nurse position, you can say something else.
[00:05:52] Druml: Well, of course, the cliché experiences. Everything was special for a different reason, right? But I think I really enjoyed, when we were in the professional development, my transition from a manager to a director role. It really started as sort of a two or three people in our team and then quickly expanded. So there was a lot of growth, a lot of opportunities, really dynamic people that we were working with, working on our Magnet® journey at McHenry at the time. So there was a lot of excitement and advancement that was probably a really cool honestly, coming full circle back to the telemetry unit as a manager, I don't think anything could have really topped that because I was able to see things from a different lens and able to take each experience that I've had, To make the connection as to why somebody might have asked me for this information or why I took this approach to solving a problem. And it was really all of the experiences that came together to really allow me to excel in that. So that was a real fun era for me too.
[00:06:56] Henderson: Yeah. I think about how Alyssa and I started together on 15 West and now I manage 15 East, Alyssa left and did professional development for a little while and now is back on 16 West. We always come back to medicine. You've done a lot of different things in your life within the nursing field. What kind of advantages do you think that has given you to help you get to the point where you are now? I have a lot of conversations with people who maybe think the bedside isn't really their passion. I'm like, that's OK. There are a million different things you can do with nursing, but it doesn't feel like the traditional path. So, can you speak a little bit to how that has sort of influenced how you've ended up in this position now?
[00:07:35] Druml: One of the biggest things that I tell people is to first be in the moment. When I was a clinical nurse, I got involved in the medical surgical organizations and focused on learning that at the time. Sometimes I feel like we focus so much on the next step that we forget to live in the current step. So, I always tell people to kind of have one foot in both buckets, right? One focus on where you're at now and then keep in mind where you think you might want to go and how that can leverage it. So I really made sure that I was present in the current steps so that I could be the best at the next step.
[00:08:11] Saklak: It reminds me of the quote, like, “Don't miss good on the way to perfection or great.” Sometimes it's right in front of you. And so many times we're like always trying to develop to that next step, which is right. It's in our name. We're Northwestern Medicine. Better. So it's always like, OK, how do I exist in the current, but also look at ways to improve. How do you feel like that's translated as the chief nurse with knowing where you've been and what you've done as a nurse, what are some of those challenges maybe that you see with professional development and growth and change with the current staff? And what are ways that you've maybe approached to help inspire nurses to grow and to change and to try new things. I think each hospital has different challenges. What are some of the challenges that you are seeing with the staff in professional development or growth or, looking at career opportunities?
[00:08:59] Druml: I find that there's so many competing priorities, and everybody is trying to balance what is for them at the time. The most important for me is to truly listen and to share experiences or to even say, “I know where you're coming from,” or “I hear you.” I understand what you're saying. And then try to give the real-life experiences that I've had to help them grow. Some of the things that I think of is the challenges that we face with staffing, you know, you have the financial aspect with, quality aspect, all of the keys that are coming together to make sure that we're taking care of our patients in the safest manner, but there are true challenges that exist. So, listening to people and trying to be creative, trying to think outside of the box, trying to help the teams, by really being present and trying to be innovative, reading different trends, staying on top of what the literature is saying. Stating that we should be looking to the future to try to make things better for our teams. It is not an easy environment that we're working in, but there's a lot of challenges that lead to rewards. We wouldn't be here if there weren't the rewards that were associated with it. So really trying to find the better in what we're doing every day.
[00:10:16] Saklak: Do you feel like there's things that you've learned along your leadership development story that has helped you gain that perspective or experiences that helped prepare you for this challenging workforce that we're in and some of the, the major healthcare challenges we face in our country?
[00:10:32] Druml: I really feel that I've had some great mentors along the way and also great teammates, great co-workers, just as you guys have shared about your experiences together. It's the relationships that have really leveraged my path and being able to take advantage of those. I learned from each of the chief nurses, learned from managers. As I round and talk to staff members, I'm always open to hearing what they have to say or what we need to focus on to make improvements for our team.
[00:10:59] Saklak: I'm always curious when the chief nurses get together to discuss the different problems. I think all of us would love to be a fly on the wall. What is it really like? What are the topics? Are you all experiencing similar things, differences? I mean, we're a huge system, but I think we're still very close in how we practice as nurses and what we stand by in our nurse attributes. But I'm curious, are there challenges that, you know, you feel like your team may experience that others aren't? Or is it usually pretty similar grounds?
[00:11:29] Druml: There are some things that are definitely universal, and we're all working on them together, but there's also things that come up. One of the leaders might have tackled last year, or last quarter. I can use an example.
[00:11:42] Saklak: At the summit, I was talking with the Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital chief nurse, and she was sharing some work they were doing regarding falls for fall improvement. And I took that back to our Falls Committee and our Falls team, and we implemented with some modifications, some of the tools that she had shared that they were doing, so it was an opportunity of networking, sharing. We always want to help each other, and we have so many nurses within our system that have come up with great ideas. Are we needing to completely reinvent something that exists somewhere and just needs to be modified for your team? I think that's cool to think about how, at the bedside, I can create a change and how it could impact other hospitals even beyond just mine and beyond my unit. And that's like an exact way that we try to inspire and engage our nurses to show how, like, what we do makes such a difference, and I'm sure you've experienced that within your own professional development. What different stages or platforms have helped you kind of share the success stories or projects you've done, what advice would you give to maybe nurses who are growing and learning to really showcase that work?
[00:12:50] Druml: Well, one of the first things that I would say is to really join your professional organization. Oftentimes, it's not very pricey to get involved, and there's a lot of resources that go along with that. Sometimes, being a member of a professional organization might seem overwhelming, or as you're a new grad, you're focused on what are the first things that you need to do, like get through orientation. How do I really better myself from there? But if you join the professional organization, a lot of times their resources are somewhat handed to you to point you into the right direction. So that would be the first thing I would say and that's part of the live in the moment, right? Wherever you're at right now, be the best person you can at that level so that you know what to do from the next steps. Conferences are amazing. As Lauren had mentioned, we met at the AONL Conference and we're talking there. Conferences are a great way to network with people, to learn from each other. Sometimes the best thing occurs standing in line or sitting in a session, thinking about what the session might be there for, and so you start talking to the person next to you and before you know it, you've solved the problems because you've shared what you're working on together. Some of the things that really impactful is when you are at a conference and you apply to be a presenter or apply for either a podium or a poster, and you're selected, and that's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I know of many people that I've nudged along, and they're excited because they've reached the next step, but then they're like, oh boy, this really means I have to stand in front of thousands of people and tell what we did. But I had mentors who nudged me along those ways and, really supportive of myself. And I've had an opportunity to present at conferences and be a poster presenter and when you start taking advantages of those things that happen as far as organizations, you really realize how amazing nursing is and how you are a part of this amazing journey you just want to help each other. And when someone starts talking to you about the topic of your poster and they'll start telling you about their challenges at their organization or how they think this is going to work or wouldn't work. And before you know it, you might be helping them problem solve for something in 10 states away. So it's really neat. It's scary at the same point, but the organizations, there's so many different platforms out there for you to do it. The best thing is to find a buddy and journey on with them because that is really powerful and fun.
[00:15:22] Henderson: I think one of my favorite nursing memories thus far has been presenting on this podcast actually at AONL last year with Alyssa. So I found my buddy.
[00:15:34] Saklak: We're like sitting down doing the application together and, like, what's next steps? And, you know, getting on the calls together really does help when you have someone else to, to go through those foreign experiences, together and, and learn together. And, yeah, I think we walked away from that session and we were like, oh, this is exactly what we needed. And I'm so inspired. I think it's the sense of community when you're surrounded by other people who are all committed to solving the same problems that they're experiencing. That is so uplifting. I think there's a lot of, why, what is it going to do for me to join a professional organization? But kind of how you mentioned, Amy, it's going to be as good as you make it, right? If you choose to involve yourself and attend these conferences, you're going to get something out of it, but if you are begrudgingly joining a professional organization because it's the right thing to do, it's not going to do anything for you. So you sort of have to go out and seek those opportunities on your own, which I think are the people that we're trying to speak to, are new graduate nurses. And so for them to understand the why is. Because you all want to see change, so you have to get out there and you have to get involved. Thinking back to your career, what was like a change that you implemented based off a role that you were involved in? Can you think of any experiences that can help others? Maybe think about what that change would look like serving as a chair or something on your unit that you did?
[00:16:56] Druml: So one of the things that I recall as being pretty impactful is some of our nurses. attended a session that they learned about basically a night shift council. They were able to bring that back from a conference and figure out how we could work that into our shared leadership structure. And, obviously did some modifications, but that's a council that we still have today. It's a small, but I feel mighty, council and very impactful. The Night Shift team doesn't always feel like they have a voice. That's one of the things that I always think of when people say, “How can I take something that I learned at a conference and bring it here?” Most of the time when you have something from a conference or reading an article or partnering with something that you've heard somebody else doing that was successful, you’re going to get a different excitement level, like yeah, they just did this lets figure out how to do it. We can make this work too.
[00:17:48] Saklak: I feel like that's been a common theme in my experience too, and I loved the example of the Night Shift Committee. I think sometimes we think of change as being this huge, robust project, and sometimes it's the quick wins. And it's the small changes implementations that don't require a ton of work that can sometimes lead to success and positive changes. I appreciate when we're able to share that because I think storytelling and sharing is the best way that we're going to learn and grow from one another. Taking that first step is sometimes the hardest thing to do. So, I love that. Thank you for sharing it.
[00:18:02] Druml: Of course.
[00:18:21] Henderson: Amy, what would you say your, what's your specialty? Like if someone asks what kind of nurse you are, what would you say?
[00:18:27] Druml: I would say leadership, but also development. because that's always brought me the biggest joy watching others grow, whatever way that may be. It's been something present throughout my entire career. I was a preceptor as a patient care tech, so I feel like I became a leader and a mentor and developer in that role. It's been a constant through each of my roles. So I would say leadership and development, really supporting people. Its, you know, it has rang true in my current role. I love working with other leaders, directors, or managers or clinical nurses who might come to me and ask how I do the next step?
[00:19:00] Henderson: I love that in a leader. I think that's exactly the type of people that we need leading in large organizations.
[00:19:11] Saklak: Well, and I think you highlight that each person's going to have a different motivation and a different thing that inspires them and like how can we find that and help connect them to whatever that journey looks like for them. And I think at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, we really do try to find the path. If it's not here in our own backyard, it's what other area can we help connect you to, which provides so many opportunities for people. As we sit here downtown talking to you and McHenry, again, I, I think we're always trying to find ways to stay connected and to use the resources like you said, but, meeting people where they're at is so important. A lot of our leaders do a great job of demonstrating that and doing that to help uplift, you know, the future generations to come in nursing and nursing leadership.
[00:19:57] Druml: I also think that you pointed out something really important: We have community hospitals. We have the academic medical center. We can do heavy research. We can really work in the community setting. Wherever you need to be at that moment. Like I had mentioned that I took my mom-journey portion of my nursing career. There's definitely people who might start, and we find this a lot, that we'll have nurses start. They are living with mom and dad at home. They might do that for a couple years and have a little money in their pocket and decide that they want to have a little adventure. And so they'll say, I want to look to see what's available for me downtown. Fortunately, we have that. They're not losing their seniority by taking advantage of a new opportunity. Sometimes that might be hard on a unit if you have somebody leaving after two years but we allow those experiences. We want people to grow. And it's really neat that we're able to do that within the same system and give people those opportunities. So they don't necessarily have to leave Northwestern Medicine, I mean, we'd love everybody to end up staying forever, right? But, take the different things from the different paths and grow still.
[00:21:08] Henderson: let's close with what is your final piece of advice to someone who maybe is not happy with where they're at or who is struggling to be in the moment? What would you say to that person that came to you for help?
[00:21:21] Druml: I think I would ask them, think about what made you go into health care to begin with. What was your why, really? Find out why you started this. Sometimes people forget. They get so caught up in where they're at. What's inhibiting their why? Is it their environment? Is it their current role? Is it something that's happening outside of health care that they need to take care of themselves for their wellness, figure out why and ask if you're giving it your all. And I really think that we need to make sure that we are giving it our all before we think that other people, you know, we need to count on ourselves instead of other people to constantly be the ones that are pulling us along. We need to be willing to step up and take those opportunities that exist.
[00:22:03] Henderson: Amy, this was such an awesome conversation. It was lovely to chat with you again. We appreciate your time, and thank you so much for joining us on this episode of Better RN.
[00:22:12] Druml: Thank you. I had a blast.
[00:22:14] Henderson: Thank you for listening. Please follow us wherever you get your podcasts and rate and review the show.
[00:22:23] Saklak: We'd love to hear your comments and any topics you might want us to explore.