Specializing in Per Diem Nursing, Travel Nursing, International Nurses, Allied Healthcare, Employment Services and more.

I can hear the fireworks and I can hear the people shouting out that it’s almost Independence Day. This is when the United States declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 4, 1776. This holiday is very exciting with fireworks displays, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs and picnics all celebrating the history and traditions of the United States. It took strong leadership to organize and execute the strategies necessary to defeat the British forces to become an independent country.

I attended the Association of California Nurse Leaders quarterly seminar last month. We sponsored the keynote speaker whose presentation was about relational answers to operational problems between nurse leadership and the bedside nurse. This is accomplished by building trust between management and staff. Leaders can get their best advice out on the floors talking to the staff nurses. The nurses know how things could be improved far better then the managers, and most of the nurses will tell it like it is. To draw out an employee’s opinions about an issue, you need to build TRUST. As a leader one should become a Team player, be Responsive and Respectful, be Understanding without judgment, be Safe by reassuring employees that there are no consequences for their opinions, be Talented and knowledgeable, skilled and technically proficient.

Let freedom ring and let the good times last a little longer. The world will always be filled with Yes People, but it’s the smart leaders who can admit they don’t know it all and have the self-confidence to listen to their employees’ ideas. If you find yourself with an ineffective leader, just say goodbye because it’s Independence Day. I hope you had a great Fourth of July Celebration. - Harold Sterling, CEO

As you are probably aware, after 15 years of being in the same location, we have moved our corporate office. After many tentative dates, we finally moved the last week of May. It will take some adjusting to get used to our new office during the month of June. June is notoriously a busy month: basketball finals, baseball, weddings, graduations, father’s day, and the beginning of the summer holidays. June can leave you harried and with little time to pursue other objectives, such as getting settled into our new surroundings.

With the new office and the start of summer, it makes me think back to my youth, tree houses, and skinned knees. After all, not many kids I know made it through a summer’s worth of activities without at least one bump or bruise. Nothing could ease life’s little ups and downs better than the sanctuary of the backyard tree house, or maybe your place was a fort made out of sheets, blankets and pillows. Whatever the construction, the place was a gathering spot for best friends who had their own special traditions and rituals.

So goodbye to the old and welcome in the new opportunities. Even if your personal calendar is full this month, the call of sunshine-filled afternoons that stretch into the evening may be too tempting to ignore. Don’t fret. You needn’t put your activities on hold; we are always here to help! The pride you will derive from working with the new corporate office will be nothing less than that of a starlit summer night in your very own Tree House.

All your friends at Westways wish you a safe and fantastic summer. - Harold Sterling, CEO

This month, as we celebrate our profession and Florence Nightingale’s birthday, it is a good time to ask, how healthy is nursing?

By my prediction, we are mid term in this economical nursing cycle. There are a number of companies who have not been able to survive the current market softness. Also, we are starting to see a decline of hiring by hospitals. Wage increases for nurses have flattened out; probably becoming negative in real terms over the coming years. Historically, this has been consistent with how the hospitals operate in these conditions. We will also see enrollment in nursing schools drop, and at some point, the very rapidly aging RN population will become greater than the younger nurses entering the profession. In addition, President Obama is working on a new healthcare package that will more then likely drive more patients into the hospitals.

My opinion is that the worse things are in the short term, the greater the nursing demand will be in the long term. Then we will be dealing with the dynamics of a nursing shortage of epic proportions.

Nursing is the backbone of health care. Nurses have more individual contact with patients than any other health profession, every day. But the image that has been created isn’t particularly flattering to the public.

The public doesn’t know who to blame it on, but in today’s hospitals, it is sometimes hard to feel truly cared for. Blame it on shortened length of stay. Blame it on short staffing. Blame it on managed care. But we have to find a way to show patients we care even when we’re too busy. We have to keep talking to them. We have to introduce ourselves as we lead them into an examining room or meet them at the beginning of a shift. No matter what’s going on in health care, nurses are the keepers of caring. Would you want it any other way?

Remember, we will always have a boss to answer to. Even though they are in charge, we know who the real boss is. WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY NURSES WEEK! - Harold Sterling, CEO

With spring here and planting season, in many places, just around the corner, I particularly don’t have a green thumb. I find it hard to grow plants and keep them green. Gardeners always stress the importance of choosing high quality seeds. Plant and nurture them and be careful to keep the weeds under control. I have come up with a plan that I will consider this year by using the fundamentals and skills I have used in my profession to have a successful garden.

First, let’s plants some peas. Passion tops the list of skills you will need to excel in the garden or professionally. Passion always enhances our performance. When you love what you do, you’ll do it better. Then persistence should come next. We need to be persistent so we won’t give up.

Now, let’s plant some squash. This will promote a positive environment. Squashing gossip is necessary because the damage is not easily undone. Squash criticism that is not constructive or offered in a useful spirit.

Next, we will plant some lettuce rows that will allow our character and flowers to bloom. Let us be true to our obligations. Honoring our obligations represents a commitment to our words that our garden expects and appreciates. Let us be unselfish. These are the fundamentals to good human relations. Let us be loyal. Someone can be a great worker, but if they aren’t loyal, our garden won’t be as lush as expected, and it could put our employment in jeopardy.

We will water freely with patience and cultivate with affection. We must have fun at what we are doing and really love what we do. Remember, the width of life is as important as the length. We need to branch out to truly blossom. - Harold Sterling, CEO

As healthcare clinicians caring for a patient with a poor prognosis, we often tell the patient’s family members to not give up on hope. As if hope will reveal certain principles of truth, which when applied are the solution of all issues, and the healing of all ills. Hope has the capacity to start the family member thinking, thereby preparing the ground for the advancement of progress. Hope is what helps all of us to get through our worst days.

You’ve probably heard the tale of Pandora opening her fabled box. It seems Pandora, as Greek mythology goes, opened the box and released all the evils inside. When she realized what she had done, she quickly closed the box trapping hope inside. The Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as the world’s other evils. She soon discovered that without hope to offset their troubles, humanity was filled with despair. So, Pandora released hope as well. In the myth, hope was more potent than any of the other major evils.

Think about the word “impossible” and what a devastating effect it has. Thinking stops. Progress is halted. Doors are slammed shut. Dreams are discarded. Hope looks at what is possible, and builds on that. Buried dreams are resurrected and a great new era of adventure, experimentation, expansion, and prosperity is born.

Even though the reality of the outcome of our patient is poor, it may be futile to council the family members not to lose hope, because all hope is lost. Remember that hope believes every cloud has a silver lining, and when that cloud rains, it makes things grow. Then the sun comes out again, and we are so glad Pandora didn’t keep hope trapped in her fabled box. - Harold Sterling, CEO