Kathy was first hired by Horizon as an Outpatient Nurse in September of 2016. In her almost 7 years as a valued team member, Kathy has grown her career to now serve as the Director of Nursing for the organization. Read on to learn about Kathy’s development at Horizon and her goals for her future!
What kinds of trainings/ad hoc committees/workgroups have you been a part of that have supported your growth?
I was fortunate to participate in the Leadership Training Program offered through Horizon’s internal training program, Horizon University, as well as trainings focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The extensive course offerings available to all staff members encourage constant growth, development, and learning.
In addition to focusing on my own growth, I have been able to support the growth of other team members through developing and implementing a portion of the onboarding training provided to new RNs on our team. I have also been involved in various internal committees that work to improve employee experience and quality of patient care.
Outside of Horizon, I am a member of the Nursing Advisory Panel for OASAS, which has fostered professional relationships with other Substance Use Disorder RN Managers/Directors across New York State.
Can you speak to the mentorship relationships you’ve developed over the years and how these have helped you grow as a leader?
My career at Horizon has been advanced with the assistance of two mentors, Debbie and Paige. Both impacted my career and skills in very different ways.
Debbie was a people-person who helped me develop interpersonal skills. She taught me how to build rapport with my team and members of interdisciplinary teams we work with. Debbie also stressed the importance of a work-life balance and having team building activities outside work for our nurses. This led to increased comradery amongst the nursing team.
Paige taught me how to lead from behind. She championed her team members and helped them define and reach professional goals. During supervisions, Paige challenged me to voice my 5-year and 10-year plans, ideal position at Horizon, and to identify the steps I needed to take to reach these goals. She helped me refine the goals and steps as each milestone was met. Paige also encouraged me to voice my visions for change and realize that we may try many different ideas before we find a process that is ideal. Most importantly, she taught me that failure of some of these ideas is not only normal but is essential in order to truly grow.
Do you have any goals for further growth within your role at Horizon?
My goals are to maximize nursing services and explore how to work with medical providers to provide the highest level of care to our patients. Personally, I wish to represent the nurses and nursing needs of the patients for the purposes of strategic planning and agency change.
What would you say to someone who may be interested in growing in their career with Horizon?
Horizon is a wonderful place to grow your career. The corporate culture is invested in developing leaders from within. We have an Emerging Leaders program as well as many other trainings designed to help staff members with professional growth. Supervisors are also mentors and are invested in the success and development of their team members. While I have worked for many organizations in the medical and legal fields, Horizon is the first that has taken an active role in my career success.
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