May is a time to celebrate the nursing profession. All month, nurses honor other nurses and the healthcare community comes together to recognize each other and the accomplishments we have achieved both personally and professionally.
I am deeply honored to serve as the chief Nurse Executive at UKG, an organization whose purpose is people. Our team of 25 nurses and thousands of professionals in multiple disciplines are always looking for innovations that will help our healthcare customers reimagine both their cultures and processes in pursuit of the best possible patient and staff experience. We work with healthcare teams daily, helping them improve current processes and teaching them ways to optimize the use of our technology.
It's because of our commitment to inspiring workforces and businesses, that more than half of all U.S. hospitals and health systems, along with thousands of post-acute and senior living facilities use UKG products to create great employee experiences and better patient outcomes.
Saluting Nurses: Agents for Change and Compassion
Why nursing is a unique profession
Colleagues often ask me what makes nursing such a unique profession. As I reflect on my own professional career, I captured some of the most compelling attributes that I see and experience in the many nurses I interact with daily.
- Nursing is a lifelong profession with a unique calling to help others.
- Nursing requires ongoing learning, as it is both a science and an art.
- Nursing requires collaboration with colleagues, including leadership.
- Nurses are trained to consider the “whole person.”
- Nurses are compassionate and caring.
- Nurses are innovative and adept at change.
- Nurses have a special relationship with other nurses that often spans a lifetime.
- Nurses believe it is a privilege to care for others in their time of need.
How we’re celebrating Nurses Month
At UKG, celebrating Nurses Month is a big deal. Our team carefully considered ways we could show both our appreciation for all nurses as well as inspire you. So, we selected two outstanding nurses – one just starting her career and the other a “seasoned” veteran – to showcase in a two-minute video.
Cameron Kiser, at Cone Health in North Carolina, is a recent DAISY Award* recipient, who is early in her career as an emergency department nurse. When asked about why she loves her profession, she enthusiastically says, “We are the patient’s advocate, which I think is one of the coolest things about being a nurse.”
Eileen Dolan is a nursing veteran, who, at 88 years young, continues to serve others in her New Jersey community. When asked about the changes she’s seen since graduating from St. Michael’s Nursing School in 1956, she remarks, “I think today nurses have more authority and I think patients are getting much better care because we know a lot more now than we did in those days.”
I hope you enjoy getting to know these two dedicated professionals and are inspired by their dedicated service.
UKG is proud to support nurses everywhere
We salute and celebrate the knowledge, professionalism, and compassion you bring with you to work every day.
Resources that can help you make your healthcare organization best in class:
UKG Great Place To Work Hub, an industry-first solution that combines Great Place To Work benchmarks and Trust Index™ survey results with UKG data to understand engagement and performance drivers while helping leaders emphasize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Download the UKG + Great Place To Work Culture Playbook today to start planning a people-centric culture strategy of trust and belonging for all and evaluate the benefits for your healthcare organization.
UKG Wallet, a financial wellness tool that gives all people, and especially those living in unbanked or underbanked areas, access to their earned wages prior to payday.
UKG Talk, a frontline employee communication and collaboration tool that connects people who work different shifts or across different locations to foster a strong sense of belonging.
UKG Employee Voice, an AI-powered employee sentiment tool that encourages transparent and conversational survey responses, so leaders can understand how their people really feel.
*The DAISY Award from the national DAISY Foundation honors the super-human work nurses do for patients and families every day wherever they practice, in whatever role they serve, and throughout their careers—from nursing student through lifetime achievements.
