Elevate Care

Building Stronger Nursing Teams with Dr. Cody Legler of Atlantic Health

Episode Summary

In this episode of the Elevate Care podcast, host Enderson Miranda speaks with Dr. Cody Legler, DNP, APRN, NEA-BC, FAONL, System Vice President and System Chief Nurse Executive at Atlantic Health. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience leading transformational change across major health systems, Dr. Legler shares how his career path shaped a leadership philosophy built on mentorship, organizational courage, and a genuine commitment to the people delivering care. Dr. Legler reflects on a career that began as a phlebotomist and grew into system-level nursing leadership—and the lessons that shaped him along the way. He speaks to the value of mentorship that reaches beyond healthcare, the strength that comes from reverse mentorship across generations, and why bold decisions—like pursuing a Pathway to Excellence designation during the pandemic—often build an organization's foundation rather than strain it. He also turns to the forces reshaping care delivery: evolving models of care, top-of-license practice, and the partnerships health systems are forming with workforce and technology partners to close access gaps. Throughout, one theme holds steady: that supporting nursing teams and building healthy work environments is inseparable from delivering better patient care.

Episode Notes

In this episode of the Elevate Care podcast, host Enderson Miranda speaks with Dr. Cody Legler, DNP, APRN, NEA-BC, FAONL, System Vice President and System Chief Nurse Executive at Atlantic Health. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience leading transformational change across major health systems, Dr. Legler shares how his career path shaped a leadership philosophy built on mentorship, organizational courage, and a genuine commitment to the people delivering care.

Dr. Legler reflects on a career that began as a phlebotomist and grew into system-level nursing leadership—and the lessons that shaped him along the way. He speaks to the value of mentorship that reaches beyond healthcare, the strength that comes from reverse mentorship across generations, and why bold decisions—like pursuing a Pathway to Excellence designation during the pandemic—often build an organization's foundation rather than strain it. He also turns to the forces reshaping care delivery: evolving models of care, top-of-license practice, and the partnerships health systems are forming with workforce and technology partners to close access gaps. Throughout, one theme holds steady: that supporting nursing teams and building healthy work environments is inseparable from delivering better patient care.

Key Takeaways

·      Mentorship works best when it's diverse. Dr. Legler recommends identifying three to five mentors over a career, including at least one or two from outside healthcare.

·      Reverse mentorship strengthens leadership. Learning from younger generations in the workforce helps leaders understand shifting priorities and build healthier work environments.

·      Bold decisions pay off. Choosing to pursue a Pathway to Excellence designation during the pandemic gave one organization a shared goal and a framework for moving forward together.

·      The model of care is shifting quickly. Technology, top-of-license practice, and new partnerships between employers and academic institutions will define nursing's next chapter.

·      Professional associations build lasting networks. Involvement in groups like the American Organization for Nursing Leadership creates a support system that pays forward across an entire career.

·      Workforce comes first, right after patients. A stable, supported nursing team is the foundation for consistent, high-quality patient care.

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to Nurse Leadership and Workforce Priorities

02:09 – Cody Legler's Path from Phlebotomist to Chief Nurse Executive

05:34 – A Leadership Philosophy Built on Listening and Data

08:43 – The Power of Mentorship and Reverse Mentorship

11:06 – Why Nurse Leaders Need Perspective Beyond Healthcare

14:43 – Creating a Culture That Encourages Bold Decisions

16:48 – Real Examples: Pathway to Excellence During the Pandemic

20:43 – The Future Model of Care and Top-of-License Practice

25:03 – AI, Workforce Demographics, and the Next Decade of Nursing

29:37 – The Value of Professional Associations and Networking

32:31 – Advice for Aspiring Nurse Leaders

33:48 – Closing Thoughts on the Future of Nursing

Meet Dr. Cody Legler

Dr. Cody Legler, DNP, APRN, NEA-BC, FAONL, is the System Vice President and System Chief Nurse Executiver at Atlantic Health, a leading nonprofit health system headquartered in New Jersey. He brings more than 15 years of nursing leadership experience, including previous roles as Assistant Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Maimonides Health in New York, and Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of Perioperative Services at MedStar Health. Alongside his system leadership work, Dr. Legler has spent over ten years in academia and currently serves as a Clinical Associate Professor at SUNY Downstate. He remains active in professional associations, including the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the Maryland Organization for Nursing Leaders, where he previously served as president.

Episode Transcription

00;00;00;13 - 00;00;02;05
Cody
always say patients

00;00;02;05 - 00;00;05;16
Cody
first, but workforce and our team members always,

00;00;05;21 - 00;00;06;29
Cody
that's not just in nursing.

00;00;06;29 - 00;00;14;13
Cody
That's certainly across the board.

00;00;14;16 - 00;00;20;07
Enderson
Welcome to elevate the podcast, where we explore the ideas and innovations shaping the future of healthcare.

00;00;20;07 - 00;00;40;17
Enderson
I'm your host, Anderson Miranda. And today we're talking about something that sits at the heart of every healthcare organization, which is the future of nursing leadership. Joining me today is Dr. Cody Legler, DNP, APRN, NEA-BC, FAONL, VCP & System Chief Nurse Executive, Atlantic Health, , a nationally recognized nursing executive with more than 15 years of experience leading transformational change across some of the country's leading healthcare systems.

00;00;40;21 - 00;00;51;14
Enderson
Throughout his career, Dr. Legler has championed innovative workforce strategies, built new models of care, and remained deeply committed to developing the next generation of nursing leaders.

00;00;51;14 - 00;01;12;06
Enderson
Doctor is currently the system vice president and system nurse executive at the leading nonprofit health system headquartered in new Jersey. Prior to his current role, Doctor Legler served assistant vice president and chief nursing officer at Mammon in his health in New York and vice president chief nursing officer at Perioperative Services at Our Health.

00;01;12;10 - 00;01;43;00
Enderson
In our conversation today, we're going to be exploring how healthcare leaders can foster both in innovative workforce solutions. While mentorship matters at every stage of a nurse's career and what the future of nursing will require from leaders both inside and outside the organizations. We're also going to be discussing the importance of professional associations about collaboration across industries will be critical to shaping the profession for years to come.

00;01;43;02 - 00;01;47;20
Cody
Thanks, Anderson for having me really excited about our conversation as well. Looking forward to

00;01;47;23 - 00;02;09;16
Enderson
Thank you. So, Cody, I always like to begin our talks. We're really first asking our guests to share a bit about their journey. So if you can share for audience a little bit about your your professional background, your involvement in the various different professional organizations that you're actively involved in and the journey that led you to where you are today at Atlantic

00;02;09;19 - 00;02;30;09
Cody
Absolutely. Thanks, Anderson. So I couldn't help care. About 20 years. I began in healthcare in high school, actually, as a phlebotomist in an academic medical center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I chose to complete a program while in high school that allowed me to work as a phlebotomist through one of the local community colleges.

00;02;30;11 - 00;02;34;05
Cody
continued that job as I went to college and throughout college.

00;02;34;05 - 00;02;58;04
Cody
I certainly thought I wanted to go to medical school, but then in the last year or so, I really started to shift my interest to nursing school based on the opportunities and experiences I had with all of the nursing team members directly at the bedside with patients, the time they got to spend with the patients, the impact they had on both the patient individual patient level as well as a larger level and leadership positions.

00;02;58;04 - 00;03;37;11
Cody
And so once I finished and graduated college, I went straight into nursing school and went through an accelerated program. And from there I earned a graduate degree in nursing and really knew that I wanted to get into leadership. So I worked in a couple of different clinical nurse roles in the Wisconsin area and then moved to Washington, D.C., where I spent about 15 years at MedStar health, starting in clinical nursing roles and moving my way into various leadership positions, mainly in perioperative services to begin with, and then eventually into broader roles in a CNO role.

00;03;37;18 - 00;04;02;06
Cody
And I culminated my journey at MedStar health as the system Chief Nursing Officer for Perioperative Services. And that really prepared me to work at a system level and allowed me to move to New York City and take an inaugural system chief nurse position at Maimonides Health. And as of about a month ago, I came over to new Jersey at Atlantic Health.

00;04;02;10 - 00;04;42;08
Cody
Throughout my entire journey, I have spent a lot of time in academia in faculty roles, over ten years now, currently a Clinical Associate Professor at Suny downstate, teaching in their graduate and DNP program, which I absolutely love and in terms of professional associations, have been involved in many for a number of years. I've learned so much and had had so many invaluable experiences through the American Organization for Nursing Leadership in particular, and then also on a regional affiliate level through the Maryland Organization for Nursing Leaders, where I was a president for a few years prior to my move to New York.

00;04;42;08 - 00;04;48;01
Cody
So those are just two highlights. The professional associations in combination with the

00;04;48;01 - 00;05;03;08
Cody
leadership experiences and healthcare system, as well as faculty experiences, have really helped me see the full spectrum of healthcare as both from a workforce perspective as well as a delivery system.

00;05;03;13 - 00;05;31;14
Enderson
I certainly an extremely impressive career. Cody, I've had the first hand of experiencing it, working closely with you in several of your roles over the years, and it's just been really impressive to see the impact that you and your teams have had in patient care and overall nursing profession. And as you as you're looking to, you know what the years you've you know, you've lad, you know, diverse, differentiated nursing teams across a variety of organizations and in different care settings.

00;05;31;14 - 00;05;34;20
Enderson
What would you say is your leadership philosophy

00;05;34;22 - 00;06;03;08
Cody
So my leadership philosophy is always to be in a state of continual learning and listening. And as I've evolved and learned from different mentors, I've really learned that the broader your role becomes and the higher level position, if you will, the more time you have to spend actively listening. And in addition to actively listening, you really have to pay attention and closely use the data that's available to you on all lenses.

00;06;03;08 - 00;06;07;21
Cody
Clinical quality, workforce, the community needs,

00;06;07;21 - 00;06;15;16
Cody
and the list goes on. But the combination of listening and using the data that's available really, I think has helped me

00;06;15;16 - 00;06;52;22
Cody
make an impact and also continually learn from from others.

00;06;52;24 - 00;07;05;16
Cody
So to me, professional development is absolutely essential. So you can see it in the frameworks with the international recognition systems for the

00;07;05;19 - 00;07;27;19
Cody
excellence in nursing, whether that be a magnet designation or a Pathway to Excellence designation. And there are many others. So it is demonstrated there, but it's also demonstrated on in how we make impact to our healthcare systems from an equitable and meaningful standpoint.

00;07;27;19 - 00;07;28;14
Cody
So

00;07;28;16 - 00;07;35;03
Cody
as healthcare has evolved and more of the opportunities have surfaced throughout the pandemic

00;07;35;03 - 00;07;50;29
Cody
and since the pandemic and beyond, we've really learned that without having the professional development opportunities available for our team members, that we're not going to have the workforce, that we need to take care of our patients.

00;07;51;02 - 00;07;59;09
Cody
I always say patients first, but workforce and our team members always, and that's not just in nursing.

00;07;59;09 - 00;08;21;00
Cody
That's certainly across the board. And I think the world has a little bit of a different perspective the past few years. However, there's a lot of opportunity and we have a long way to go. And it's also very, very different by region. What's going well? What are the challenges, what maybe the future outlook is? So that's something else to consider just within the United States then.

00;08;21;00 - 00;08;23;11
Cody
Then of course globally, there's even a broader

00;08;23;11 - 00;08;43;06
Cody
consideration that should be taken.

00;08;43;08 - 00;08;55;12
Cody
The mentorship broadly is very important to me. So I have been fortunate to be blessed with several amazing mentors, and those mentors have changed over the course of my career.

00;08;55;12 - 00;09;11;08
Cody
I've learned from those mentors, and they've shared how they have learned from their mentors. And I think a really important component of mentorship is also that it doesn't necessarily mean it always has to be the same discipline or even

00;09;11;11 - 00;09;13;06
Cody
workforce setting that you're in,

00;09;13;06 - 00;09;18;12
Cody
I've had some amazing mentors and obviously still do that are completely unrelated to healthcare.

00;09;18;12 - 00;09;22;08
Cody
And so through those experiences, in terms of reverse mentorship,

00;09;22;11 - 00;09;57;26
Cody
some of the things that I have learned from others that have reverse mentored me, I've actually carried forward. And a lot of that has actually been spending time through learning and listening, as I mentioned earlier at the bedside, still practicing as a nurse practitioner in an FCS from a volunteer perspective, and really learning how the different diverse generations of the workforce that exist today have different priorities and needs, and none are wrong.

00;09;57;26 - 00;10;17;25
Cody
And they all have opportunities. But you have to often get that from the generations that you're not from on both ends of the spectrum. And I've learned what my generation X workforce needs are versus perhaps my generation

00;10;17;27 - 00;10;39;25
Cody
Z and millennials and so forth. So it's a never ending process, but you learn so much through reverse mentorship that allows you to continue to improve the healthy work environment and also create impact for the patients that are continually improving and have a future opportunity to be better.

00;10;40;02 - 00;10;52;08
Enderson
definitely. And as you mentioned, having the perspectives. You know, multigenerational as as we have more of the workforce coming in. You've also mentioned, you know, the benefit of leaders being able to get,

00;10;52;09 - 00;10;58;27
Enderson
you know, the spectrum is beyond their own healthcare systems and even beyond healthcare as a whole. Right. You mentioned, you

00;10;58;29 - 00;11;06;03
Enderson
you know, multiple industry rather that is, you know, technology, startups, government or any other industry in general.

00;11;06;05 - 00;11;14;09
Enderson
Why would you say that? You know, it would be beneficial. And it's important for for leaders to really get that broader perspective outside of

00;11;14;12 - 00;11;16;00
Cody
So I think from a couple

00;11;16;07 - 00;11;20;04
Cody
perspectives. So the first I would say that just within healthcare,

00;11;20;04 - 00;11;54;08
Cody
a lot of us grew up in the acute care environment, and we've seen healthcare systems evolve and become much more complex. And we've seen all the mergers and acquisitions that continue to happen. So just within healthcare, it's important to go outside of the setting that you perhaps are very comfortable in or very knowledgeable in and learn about those visiting, nursing, association, setting and spaces, learning about the ambulatory network, understanding where the investments based on the type of organization you are in are being made from a strategic partnership or

00;11;54;12 - 00;11;57;00
Cody
perhaps a venture back opportunity.

00;11;57;00 - 00;12;29;01
Cody
And so just within the healthcare system, you you wind up having mentors that may or may not be a nurse or may or may not be a legacy healthcare expert, but beyond healthcare. And when I in particular think about the professional associations, it's so important to have the talent that can guide you from a mentorship perspective. So, for example, government affairs is critical in many ways in healthcare but also across the world.

00;12;29;02 - 00;13;13;18
Cody
And so I think it's really important to have the ability to have mentorship in that space. And oftentimes you get different perspectives, and that's what helps you with progressing advocacy, and that supports you in doing a lot more listening and creating that strategic buying with external stakeholders. Another area that I've found really helpful is to have someone that can mentor you in the financial space that perhaps isn't necessarily a healthcare expert, and often that person, if they're from a fintech background or where there's a lot of innovation and technology, you really learn how to perhaps make decisions that are a bit more

00;13;13;22 - 00;13;20;06
Cody
risk taking, and you learn that there's a lot of failures before you

00;13;20;06 - 00;13;27;11
Cody
find success sometimes, and that when you bring that back to healthcare, you're kind of functioning in a different

00;13;27;11 - 00;13;32;28
Cody
domain. And so it really exposes you to think differently and to make sometimes very difficult

00;13;32;28 - 00;13;43;29
Cody
decisions. But really for the organization or most importantly, the individual patient can can have a significant positive impact and have a long term

00;13;43;29 - 00;14;08;05
Cody
difference that is being

00;14;08;08 - 00;14;19;05
Enderson
make a case for for what's needed based on, you know, whatever the organization is going through that times, you know, especially as we know that challenges around the workforce and and to your point, you know, what being able

00;14;19;05 - 00;14;22;10
Enderson
to to look at the role, take calculated risks.

00;14;22;10 - 00;14;29;23
Enderson
And as you mentioned in the past, innovation really requires leaders to to be able to take that those calculated risks.

00;14;29;27 - 00;14;43;17
Enderson
then you know in your mind like how can organize then create that culture that encourages those bold ideas to, to to be able to move forward and really, you know, encourage their leaders to, to to look in the workforce

00;14;43;20 - 00;15;10;10
Cody
So I'll answer that question from a nursing perspective. And it goes back to your original question, which is what is my philosophy and nursing? And I think it comes back to you have to have the professional development opportunities for the nursing team members to thrive. And that does not always mean monetarily, but certainly that's an expected and important component.

00;15;10;10 - 00;15;46;04
Cody
But it means having opportunities to do things like have an innovation center to over a couple hour period here from 20 different clinical nursing team members that are presenting different opportunities for performance improvement or different ways to retain and recruit team members. So you have to provide a platform and you have to think outside the box. And you do learn that a lot from generations in the workforce that are different is every generation, as I mentioned before, has a little bit of a different lens or perhaps bias that they're looking through.

00;15;46;07 - 00;15;58;23
Cody
And so you have to be bold and you have to be willing to have partners. And I think in order to, in today's healthcare world, move into a space where

00;15;58;23 - 00;16;09;02
Cody
financially continue to evolve and be stable, you have a stable workforce and a healthy work environment, and you're making the community impact that is expected and

00;16;09;05 - 00;16;10;07
Cody
You have to be

00;16;10;07 - 00;16;20;12
Cody
bold and you have to have the ability to have those external team members and stakeholders and colleagues that can guide you and support you both formally through

00;16;20;14 - 00;16;25;09
Cody
partnerships and formal alliances and relationships, but also informally.

00;16;25;09 - 00;16;43;08
Cody
And that's where it comes back to your network and the importance of your network outside of healthcare, in addition to inside.

00;16;43;11 - 00;16;48;10
Enderson
what are some examples that you can think of, bold decisions that ultimately you had to make?

00;16;48;11 - 00;16;51;02
Enderson
And you know, the the last impact

00;16;51;05 - 00;17;30;19
Cody
So this was a team decision, but it was bold. And ultimately I certainly supported and agreed with the team. But during the height of the pandemic, the I was in in a complex community hospital, we were working towards moving into a pathway to excellence journey. And after, of course, we are deep into the pandemic. We thought we would put it on hold for the reasons that we all thought, for a variety of things that were put on hold during that time, but we actually decided to be bold and not do that, and it actually helped us get through the pandemic in a very challenging time in that particular community.

00;17;30;19 - 00;17;58;11
Cody
And it gave us one a structure and framework to work from. It allowed us to convene together and have a Northstar. That was something positive that we could look forward to, and it helped us continue to move along. And even though a lot of the strategy work and a lot of the evolution of integration of healthcare systems and so forth to some extent

00;17;58;11 - 00;18;02;08
Cody
became a standstill moment for a and a very long moment,

00;18;02;08 - 00;18;03;29
Cody
it allowed us to really move forward.

00;18;03;29 - 00;18;05;00
Cody
And ultimately

00;18;05;00 - 00;18;19;15
Cody
we did persevere and obtained the Pathway to Excellence designation. And that was such a huge accomplishment for the team and the organization, but also the community, the community that really, really was

00;18;19;15 - 00;18;26;00
Cody
challenged historically with a lot of social determinants of health working against them. And this was

00;18;26;02 - 00;18;32;23
Cody
one way to help move that community forward. So that's one example I certainly would want to share.

00;18;32;23 - 00;18;41;05
Cody
And then a more personal note, as mentioned earlier, the bold, I feel decision I made

00;18;41;08 - 00;18;56;27
Cody
move from the DC area to New York City 15 years into an amazing experience in tenure at MedStar health wasn't an easy decision, but I really wanted that opportunity to work in

00;18;56;27 - 00;19;05;23
Cody
a different geography, one and two, in an environment and in a role that I hadn't been in before.

00;19;05;23 - 00;19;08;17
Cody
And so there was a risk there. But

00;19;08;17 - 00;19;12;08
Cody
I could not have made a better decision other than

00;19;12;13 - 00;19;43;02
Cody
going into that role. But I was very, very I feel well prepared because of my previous experiences and then had such a great network of mentors that really you can phone a friend at any time, and we support each other because things change all, all the time in these healthcare roles, which which we all know.

00;19;43;05 - 00;20;43;00
Enderson
Thank you.

00;20;43;03 - 00;20;57;22
Cody
So there's a couple of things. So the first I would start with is Model of Care. And we've all been talking about model of care in nursing but beyond for a number of years now, in particular towards the end of the pandemic time period.

00;20;57;22 - 00;21;10;13
Cody
there's been significant efforts to pilot, implement, partner with external solutions providers by a number of healthcare organizations across the country.

00;21;10;13 - 00;21;30;23
Cody
And so, my personal opinion is that the model of care will continue to change, and it's not going to be a dramatic change in 5 or 10 years. It's going to be a dramatic change over the next couple of years. And I don't know that anyone really knows exactly what that looks like fully yet, but we know it's going to involve technology.

00;21;30;23 - 00;21;35;12
Cody
We know it's going to involve people working differently and not always

00;21;35;12 - 00;21;59;28
Cody
in front of someone. We know that it's going to involve the partnership between employers and academic institutions to ensure we have the numbers in terms of workforce needed, but also the right skill set and training provided to those who are going through the curriculum.

00;22;00;04 - 00;22;28;00
Cody
We also know that top of license as it relates to those future models of care working, top of licenses, absolutely essential in all roles, registered nurse roles, nurse practitioner roles, but also for all of our healthcare colleagues, respiratory therapists, medical laboratory technologists, the the technical roles in the Cat labs and the GI

00;22;28;02 - 00;22;29;11
Cody
endoscopy suites.

00;22;29;17 - 00;22;42;28
Cody
so there's a lot of opportunities there, and a lot of employers are relooking and visiting at how top of license needs to be an absolutely essential component of the current and future model of care.

00;22;43;01 - 00;22;52;15
Cody
then the third thing I would mention would be a bit broader, and that would be the strategic partnerships with

00;22;52;17 - 00;23;03;06
Cody
workforce partners such as AMN, and also strategic partnerships with the many solutions providers in the technology space.

00;23;03;06 - 00;23;09;12
Cody
And some health systems are choosing to do things inside and develop

00;23;09;14 - 00;23;35;16
Cody
their own, which is obviously a great path. But there are also are many, many partnering externally. And those strategic decisions, of course, are made by independent health system boards and senior leadership teams. But it's important to remember, as we continue to evolve for the future, that we want to ensure that everyone has equitable access to care and that everyone's moving forward.

00;23;35;16 - 00;23;48;24
Cody
And so for some geographies where the pair mix may be very different or, and or financially or the patient populations being served just don't have the access to

00;23;48;26 - 00;24;04;29
Cody
enough care or the right type of care has to be taken into consideration. And I think that's the piece that we're all still struggling with. We're making improvements and things are moving forward as it relates to addressing those challenges.

00;24;04;29 - 00;24;29;08
Cody
But we're far from where we need to be. And so how do all of those things come together? When you transform the model of care? More care is delivered in a hospital, at home or a non acute health setting. And then how do you address ensuring that there's equitable care through the very challenged healthcare finances that exist in many systems and regions right now.

00;24;29;10 - 00;24;47;27
Enderson
Absolutely. And as you mentioned, there's there's so much of the shifts and a lot of the areas you touched on and care model redesign and evolution looking into the shift workforce demographics, but also, you know, the patient population and reimbursements and overall the industry.

00;24;47;27 - 00;25;03;20
Enderson
How should leaders be thinking about, you know, the future of nursing workforce, given, you know, those challenges and and how do you see AI technology and overall those evolutions of the world's responsibilities, the generational differences that you mentioned earlier, right.

00;25;03;21 - 00;25;08;01
Enderson
How did you see all of that influence in the future of nursing over the next decade or so?

00;25;08;01 - 00;25;34;27
Cody
So nurse leaders have to be bold. They have to be open minded. And really we're moving and moved and continued to move into a culture that is much less risk averse. We still have to be responsible, we have to be safe and we have to be strategic, but we need to work with the resources in front of us, but also what's around of us differently than we probably have done in the past.

00;25;35;03 - 00;26;10;01
Cody
And that's I'm speaking of nursing, but I think more broadly, that's also for healthcare as an industry. When you think about moving forward and the nurse leaders role in that, it takes leadership to make change and leadership exists at all in all healthcare settings, in the nursing workforce. And you're a leader as a direct care nurse, you're a leader as a nurse practitioner that's working clinically, you're a leader as a formal nursing director, we all have a responsibility to be leaders.

00;26;10;05 - 00;26;42;24
Cody
that is one of the best things about moving into a career in nursing is that there's so many opportunities to lead formally and informally, and there's so many opportunities to do different things and learn different things that you never get bored and there's never, never enough time. But I think through leadership evolution, we have to continue to think about all of those perspectives and pull them all together and ensure, while doing so, to create the future of healthcare and lead the future of healthcare.

00;26;42;24 - 00;26;54;13
Cody
We have to role model healthy work environments and also ensuring that our leadership teams are prioritizing their personal needs and that there's very strong work life integration.

00;26;54;13 - 00;27;03;22
Cody
Without doing that, as we know, burnout is real and there will continue to be burnout in particular

00;27;03;25 - 00;27;11;24
Cody
leaders who are putting in their life efforts to their work and not having a more balanced approach.

00;27;11;24 - 00;27;34;02
Cody
And it's very difficult for all of us. But that's essential to to really make the future of healthcare work. And I think healthcare systems are doing a much different and improved job at that. And so are many of the supporting solutions providers through the work that they're providing of so forth. So those are some of my thoughts.

00;27;34;02 - 00;27;47;22
Cody
The other thing I would mention would be around ensuring that from a business perspective of healthcare, at the end of the day, we all of course, have to have a margin and and a strategic direction

00;27;47;25 - 00;28;35;16
Cody
leadership teams in nursing have become the need to continue to become more comfortable with writing business cases and ensuring that we're balancing perhaps the desirable outcomes we want with the one required outcomes from a regulatory and a patient population perspective and access to care perspective, but also with a well-balanced portfolio of decisions and investments, whether that be personal decision to start a performance improvement project or to be part of a decision making through an acquisition opportunity, we

00;28;35;16 - 00;28;42;19
Cody
have to better balance those two things together, and that's always been an opportunity in nursing and will continue to be.

00;28;42;22 - 00;28;48;15
Cody
I think we're better in terms of strengths in numbers and so on the employer side, if you will,

00;28;48;17 - 00;28;54;06
Cody
where I think working really hard on that. But they're also working really hard on that on the academic side.

00;28;54;06 - 00;29;37;00
Cody
And so we have to continue to align the practice or employer side with the academic side in terms of nursing as a profession. And that's how we really continue to drive forward and drive forward, making policy impact and providing better care for all in the future.

00;29;37;03 - 00;29;44;28
Cody
So when I had the opportunity to eventually become the president of the Maryland Organization for Nursing Leadership,

00;29;44;28 - 00;30;05;27
Cody
I learned of that opportunity to originally be the president elect through now, dear colleague who called called me that I had never met. And it was in the towards the beginning of the pandemic, and I wasn't really sure what I was honestly getting into or that or that I wanted to do it.

00;30;05;27 - 00;30;33;29
Cody
But one thing led to another, and I'm blessed to this day, of course, that she called me, and it was an opportunity that propelled my career, but most importantly, allowed me to learn so much about professional associations, but also about the way other healthcare systems in that particular region worked. And so it's important for personal and professional growth.

00;30;33;29 - 00;30;59;24
Cody
But also it's important because you become part of that network network. And then you can pay that forward and you can help others, whether it be in a more personal basis or addressing a larger systems problem that is at the forefront, that you may be experienced before or could shed some light on or shared resources with. So the networking and the ability to have impact and make changes so critical and essential.

00;30;59;24 - 00;31;24;28
Cody
And I find that so much of that comes through partnering in professional associations. And it'll grow over time. Right. If you relocate you meet a new network. But even in the same network, over time, it grows and grows and grows, and all of a sudden you have a network of individuals you can call upon or be a support to from across the country, in other countries as time goes on to.

00;31;24;29 - 00;31;26;01
Cody
So I

00;31;26;03 - 00;31;43;22
Cody
have a more positive viewpoint, or more highly recommend participating in those professional experiences. But you do have to balance it, right? That's on top of of our full time jobs. And it's important, as I mentioned before, that we're maintaining that work life integration. But it's a learning

00;31;43;22 - 00;31;48;20
Cody
over time. And we all have and flow in terms of our ability to participate

00;31;48;24 - 00;31;50;16
Cody
in additional activities.

00;31;50;16 - 00;32;01;01
Cody
And as life changes, life life happens, of course. And so you may need to be more present or not present at certain periods. And that's a great thing about professional associations.

00;32;01;01 - 00;32;31;12
Cody
they allow you to do that and work in your own time and space as it makes sense.

00;32;31;15 - 00;33;09;25
Cody
It's hard to pick one, but I would have to say, if you're thinking about moving formally into nursing leadership and or if you do not necessarily want to move into a formal leadership role, but as a nurse, you are a leader. As as I mentioned, as my my perspective that you have to have to have to identify mentors and not just 1 or 2, but probably 3 to 5 and 1 or 2 of those external to healthcare is always great, and those mentors will change as your career grows and your job changes.

00;33;09;25 - 00;33;21;29
Cody
And that's how you build your repository and your network. And so finding those mentors are absolutely critical. And you may never think what you're doing ten years from now is something that

00;33;21;29 - 00;33;29;12
Cody
you would be doing. But oftentimes, having the right mentors at the right time leads you to your next opportunity.

00;33;29;12 - 00;33;48;26
Cody
And that's how your career grows, and you're able to have an impact and make a difference on patients lives.

00;33;48;28 - 00;33;51;11
Cody
So the future of nursing is bright.

00;33;51;11 - 00;34;02;16
Cody
It may not be from a public standpoint or from being a nurse in the workforce standpoint as or

00;34;02;18 - 00;34;14;29
Cody
positively viewed as it maybe once have always been. But that's for not for the wrong reasons. That's for reasons that we need to in are addressing in our healthcare system.

00;34;15;00 - 00;34;18;09
Cody
And those reasons are directly

00;34;18;09 - 00;34;21;12
Cody
impacted by nurses.

00;34;21;14 - 00;34;31;18
Cody
it's so exciting that you have an opportunity as a nurse and nurse leader to make change. And so it's not always be easy, but at the end of the.

00;34;31;18 - 00;34;32;16
Enderson
Day.

00;34;32;18 - 00;34;47;00
Cody
You know that the impact you make is incredible. And the future of healthcare with nurses is the backbone of the healthcare system now and forever is really, really exciting.

00;34;47;00 - 00;35;14;07
Cody
keep the positive message and public image of nursing going and you will continue to do great things. And just remember that it's a team effort, and you have a support network of almost 6 million nurses across the United States that are here with the same mission, to provide care to patients and to improve lives for others.

00;35;14;10 - 00;35;29;04
Enderson
Thank you very much, Cody. That's powerful and really, really appreciate the insightful conversation today. Thank you for your unwavering leadership in an overall national nursing landscape. I really, really appreciate you, and thank you so much for joining us today.

00;35;29;06 - 00;35;30;04
Enderson
And to our audience.

00;35;30;06 - 00;35;31;24
Enderson
Thank you for listening in

00;35;31;24 - 00;35;39;14
Enderson
on our Elevate Care episode. And if you found this episode to be valuable, please do consider sharing it with a colleague and subscribing it to our show.

00;35;39;14 - 00;35;50;04
Enderson
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