Lisa Blue:
Hi, and welcome to Happy Hour, Happy Patients. We are a healthcare innovation podcast that highlights Ideas, trends, and innovations happening all around us in the healthcare system. I’m your host, Lisa Blue, an RN and the Chief Clinical Innovation Officer at Providertech. Today we are lucky to have doctor Dawna Cato joining us. I’m thrilled to have her with us as Dawna is a true innovator In the healthcare industry, both in the US and internationally. Her work is focused on developing and supporting nurses so that they can best care for their patients And very importantly set them up to have happy, long, successful careers in the field. Our show title Happy Hour Happy Patients references the concept The focusing on our own health and happiness has a direct positive impact on the patients we serve. We created this space with our extraordinary guest, And hopefully these conversations inspire and re-energize you, while sharing the exciting ways that you can take with you into your next workday To make each patient interaction a little bit better.
Lisa Blue:
We all know that change happens incrementally, so sharing these ideas can move us all towards improvements together. Now let me introduce today’s guest, Dr Dawna Cato. Dawna currently serves as the director of the nurse residency program at Dignity Health Global Education and has over 20 years of nursing experience in the US and an additional 3 years in China. Doctor Cato is a PhD prepared nurse specializing in nursing education and also holds a board certification in nursing professional development. She has implemented best practice teaching and learning strategies at local, national, and international levels, All to elevate professional development and improve patient outcomes. These include the design and implementation of nurse residency programs, Perioperative and cardiovascular specialty fellowship programs and preceptor training for physicians and nurses alike. Welcome Doctor. Cato.
Lisa Blue:
Thanks for joining us today.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Hi, Lisa. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.
Lisa Blue:
Yeah. I was fortunate to work directly with you and participate as a mentor early in This process of you developing these programs, and so it’s really exciting to get to see the evolution and the continued work you’ve done. As I just said, you know, local, nationally, and even internationally. Before we really get started talking about some of those exciting details, Can you share something with our audience that we should know about you? I know I just read your bio, but what else should we know about you? This might be professional or a personal detail.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Well, you know, I think that, as nurses, we are continuously evolving and growing and creating our professional identity, and And one of the things that makes me so proud to be a nurse is this space of giving back to the profession and this space of Empowering other nurses to go on and do what they really love and what they really wanna do. Right? Giving them the tools and the tips and the strategies. So, what I think you should really know about me is that I just have this passion to give nurses the capacity to Care for patients in a meaningful way and how they want to, you know, and what they envision as they’re creating their own professional identity.
Lisa Blue:
Very well said. I I think the work that you’re doing is so important on a number of levels, not just in terms of Really supporting the profession and the shortages that are currently happening, and will continue to happen. But really, when you think about that at the individual nurse level, you know, I’m sure you remember, I remember being a new nurse and How scary that was and eating even in each different clinical setting that I was in, right, I sort of experienced it all over. And so I think I know that that work is really very important, you know, both at the individual level and, you know, at the profession as a whole. So I’m very excited to hear more about the progress of that. So as we kick off this conversation today, I would love to tackle this Sort of thing from the 50,000 foot view down. And so you know there’s certainly a lot of things we could do in the healthcare profession to improve it. That probably goes without saying.
Lisa Blue:
From your lens and the work that you do every day and the passion that you feel, what do you think is the biggest opportunity In our healthcare system today?
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Giving nurses a voice. I mean, we’re the largest segment of the healthcare system. We know what needs to be done. Right? We may not always know how to do it, but we know, as frontline workers, where whatever setting you’re in, whether you’re in public Health or, you know, correctional nursing, school nursing, you know, or acute care. We know what needs to be done to redesign the healthcare system. And so I think there’s a large opportunity to, for nurses to advance in their professional trajectory, to continue their education, to engage in lifelong learning, and to really impact health care at the delivery care, you know, at the point of care, and, you know, take take the wisdom and the strengths that they have and actually apply that and make meaningful change. We became, you know, we were on the national stage in 2020 with the World Health Organization and nurse of the year. I think we’re going to be on the national national stage or international stage for several years to come, and now is our time to really impact and have our voices heard.
Lisa Blue:
I think that’s really so powerful, and as you were saying that it it led me to think of some of the things that we talk about with Helping patients navigate the healthcare system, right, because we know even as nurses clinically we know what to do, but, guiding our patients is a big part of that role. I just Had a discussion like this with some colleagues earlier this morning. And I I think what you’re saying is is similar that, you know, Taking all of the important things that nurses inherently know that they’re doing every day and and giving them that voice, showing them that path of how to to, You know, speak on behalf of their patients and and to really impact change at the at the policy level where we know that it is, you know, Significant change can actually be made, so so I think that that is, is really important work, and and really elevating those voices, is is definitely something needed to help drive change. So I know your, Your work, you know, started as clinical work and and you continue to grow and and develop in your leadership and and this amazing program development that you’ve done. So let’s look back in time just a little bit at your career and what prompted you to, so I guess take this path In the nursing field, we know that nursing is so wonderful and vast in terms of what you could do. So how, what, What made you feel excited about this path?
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Yeah. Well, I was asked to be a clinical instructor, you know, for a nursing program. And When I did that, I just found my passion. I thought, wow, I can make a difference with these new nurses And help them develop their confidence and competence to emerge into this complex health care system. Right? And so, I started growing as a nurse educator and attempting to impact that trajectory, And it’s grown. I mean, I started with prelicensure nursing students, and then I, you know, I still teach master’s students. I Precept you know, doctoral students. But I think all of us, right, have these dips Some valleys and mountains that we climb as we grow in our profession and and as we create our professional trajectory.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
And sometimes we think we’re going down, you know, we’re going north on the road and we end up going east. You know, but, those opportunities are what make us grow and what make us, you know, kind of define who we are. I think it’s important to stay grounded in your ethical principles and your philosophy. Everything I’ve done, I’ve linked back to patient safety. How can I support new nurses into the professional role with the confidence and confidence to deliver safe, efficient, effective care Each and every day? And so for me, I’m really grounded in how what I do impacts the end consumer or the patient. But I think that it’s so important to support our profession.
Lisa Blue:
I think, you know, your comments about everything going back to that, and that patient safety, and allowing nurses to deliver care in that way, it is Beyond important, there there’s a there’s a word that even beyond that that, you know, we we know that that really does become our North star and and sometimes in some settings that can be harder to keep it focused and so I really applaud you for continuing to keep that as your North Star and lead all the Nurses that you you have and and are through, instruction and and keeping that as a priority for them. So I love that you sort of teed this up for me. You know, you thought you’re going north and then you were going east. So tell us a little bit about these opportunities That have come along in your path. I think that this is such a unique story even among all the unique stories that exist in healthcare. Tell us how you ended up spending some time internationally.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Sure. So I was actually on the road that I thought I was, You know, destined to be on. I was a director of professional development in a multi hospital health care system, You know, creating programs, designing, implementing, and evaluating residency programs, doing the work that I love. And through acquisition, you know, we’ve all been there, right? Through acquisition, my position was eliminated. And, You know, at this time, I had had several years of nursing in the state of Arizona and had a strong professional network. So I wasn’t really concerned about getting another job. I was just kind of trying to figure out what I wanted to do next, right? Where I wanted to go professionally, and also meeting, you know, my personal needs with work life balance and all of that. And, I was approached through previous relationships.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Would I go to China for 2 weeks and help nurses, you know, with just some core skills and competencies at the bedside For 2 weeks. And, you know, you’re talking to an Arizona girl that really had never been east of the Mississippi. But I said, well, you know, I’ve got lots of years of experience. I have lots of things in my tool, you know, my toolbox, in my back pocket. And, so I’ll hop a, you know, plane and head to Asia for 2 weeks. You know, we can do anything for almost 2 weeks. And So when I got there, it was in Yichuan, China, which is 30 miles from the Mongolian border. So we’re not talking big urban Shanghai or, you know, Beijing.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
We’re talking about rural China. And, it was Absolutely like stepping back in time, probably, you know, a 100 years in nursing. Still wore the white caps, you know, still bowed to physicians, very rules based, very hierarchical, you know, and the nurses really just Followed, you know, orders, and and, you know, delivered care, but, not did not so much you know, did not have a voice, of nursing like we’re used to in in, you know, the United States. So, I spent 2 weeks there. I created effective communication strategies. I helped them do safe patient transfers. We implemented 2 patient identifiers. Just some basic, you know, nursing things that in the United we do each and every day and, in the end, they liked the work, so I ended up staying almost 3 years and becoming the chief nursing officer Of the hospital, a brand new, 600 bed hospital that we built.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
And it was just phenomenal work. But certainly, I took the road east for that short period of time.
Lisa Blue:
From a 2 week plan to 3 years, that’s, that’s quite a journey and, and really exciting that, you know, we, we talk a lot about collaboration and healthcare and inpatient care and, And sharing ideas and how wonderful that you could take those things, as you said, that things we do every day, you know, patient safety and using 2 patient and and bring those concepts to them and and train them. And even with some of the Really significant differences in terms of the cultural barriers and and giving them those tools that they could care for their patients and and these are ways they could Communicate more effectively and things like that. So really, such a wonderful story to hear that Gonna go over and work on a few projects, and, actually, now I’m going to open a 600 bed hospital and be the CNO and work there. So Really remarkable story and, I’m I was so impressed when I heard it the 1st time and just as impressed when I hear those details today, so thank you for sharing
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Can I just add on to what I found most amazing was how the physicians embraced this transformation? I mean, absolutely. They were just so supportive of the nurses and wanted to give them, you know, that higher accountability And that, you know, give them their ability to practice to the full extent of their education. And, I was so impressed with those physicians and colleagues That really supported the nurses in this journey of transformation.
Lisa Blue:
I think that’s remarkable because we know, certainly, it takes All of us to impact our patients and to care for them and do it in a way that safely and do it in a way that makes us all feel like we’ve Done something for our patients. So I love to hear that the entire team was excited about that transformation and active participants. That’s really wonderful. So I would love to talk, just pause for a minute, that’s a tremendous story and a really great success. I would love to pause and think back to your younger self and any of, you know, the new people that are maybe early in their careers, and these are things, you know, these are things that you work with as students today. But I’d love you to share some of the the lessons learned or challenges that you encountered To maybe save some time for others that that some of those lessons maybe could be imparted on them and and, you know, don’t take some of the The the same long ways around that that we did on our journey. So could you share lessons learned or challenges that you’ve encountered?
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Yeah. I think, you know, given, you know, the climate that we’re in now post pandemic, I think the biggest lesson that I’ve learned as a nurse is, you know, especially in my generation, is we tend to give and give and give and give. And I think that has led to burnout and, you know, stress in our profession. So for me, the biggest lesson is to make sure that you fill your own cup. Make sure That you spend time with the people that you love, that you foster the relationships that are important to you, and that you stay engaged, With with life, you know, events or happenings that are important Because it is it is so easy to, you know, to say, oh, it’s the it’s my calling or, you know, they really need my help or, You know? And that for us to just to continue to work that overtime and to continue to give, you know, with our mind and body and spirit to the profession. And that’s commendable, but we have to stop for a minute and fill our cup, and I think that’s important.
Lisa Blue:
I think it’s very important and, A message that I think across industries people can learn from. So thank you so much for that idea. I would love to talk a little bit about your current role now that you are you’ve taken the lessons learned along the way. You’ve worked Internationally, and now here you are working with Dignity Health and their global residency program. Tell us a little bit about the work that you guys are doing today And, you know, what that looks like in the upcoming months years.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Yeah. So I am so excited. I was actually going to take a step back and just, you know, retire for a bit or, you know, take some time off. And this position came across my desk, And it just spoke to me. I’m so excited to be with Dignity Health Global Education because, I think we are the solution to a problem, And that’s how they approach or that’s how we, as an organization, approach things. And so, for me, if you can visualize The bridge between practice and academics. Right? We’d always talk about practice academic gaps or, you know, and so, Dignity Health Global Education is the bridge. Right? We work with industry partners to create programs to meet their needs.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
For instance, our residency program. Right? So, how do we create a residency program that spans across a multisystem health care or multihospital health care system. Right? Or, currently, what we’re doing is creating a residency program That will meet the needs of rural and access hospitals in the state of Arizona. So I am a huge, as you probably guessed, I’m a huge proponent of residency Programs. I think that every nurse needs to go through some structured transition program as they emerge into the Professional role, especially given our climate today. But oftentimes whether it be, organizations don’t have the capacity, they don’t have, You know, the funding or whatever the case may be, they don’t have structured programs that are based on evidence and guided on best practices. Right? And so, I’m really excited because we can help. We can help with that, and help to create those programs to meet the industry needs.
Lisa Blue:
That’s that’s a really exciting future thought to imagine nurses as they they graduate having that structured program that that helps them Really very successfully step into the field and feel comfortable and confident, and certainly we all know that Time and experience helps that, but but giving them those tools on the front end is a really powerful way to ensure, A much higher likelihood of of successful transition into that, and and I’m sure the confidence then to even continue to grow within the field. So that’s really exciting. And to your point about, you know, how do you create a program for, this type of specialty and that type of specialty or rural versus urban, those are all so significantly different and the patients that we serve are different in those settings and and what they face, and so I I think you guys are certainly on the right track in terms of looking at it with that, degree of variability and planning accordingly to ensure those teams get The tools that they need to to serve the the populations as well. So that is very exciting.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Yeah. And, You know, for me, my dream is to create international residency programs. I think, as, You know, as a nurse in the United States, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to share our best practices. Our profession is, Yeah. You know, it’s a global phenomenon, what’s happening with our profession and the lack of nurses around the world. And so I would love to help other Underserved countries create residency programs to support their profession.
Lisa Blue:
The very essence of Collaboration and networking. You certainly embody that in all the work that you do, and that’s really what it takes. Right, just like we talked about the challenges and lessons learned, you know, why would we not share that? There’s so much opportunity to improve in our own country, in other countries, Across our profession, certainly if we have ideas that we’ve seen successfully implemented, and We could share those and you know really have that impact at that level. So that’s a great goal. I look forward to continuing the conversation with you and hearing how that evolves. So, I’m interested in, especially because you your your work covers so many different types of settings, Can you share a bit about some of the the ways that, healthcare IT, is part of your your work, whether that’s, Building that into the programs, so how how do your teams use health care IT today, and and what things Should people in, you know, outside of that setting be aware of?
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Yeah. I think, you know, I think there’s so much opportunity With information and technology in health care, across all different segments of the health care, you know, industry. For us, We are really excited about the opportunities on how we use health care and artificial intelligence to teach, to learn and to, you know, develop and to, validate competencies. Right? I think there’s a huge Opportunity, especially with the validation of competencies, that we, you know, use. For instance, what if the preceptee had a, you know, a QR code on their name badge that we could the preceptor could scan that QR code and and validate competencies as they’re as they’re walking them through, You know, their preceptorship or their residency program. Right? Creating competency based education versus a, you know, Huge skills list. Right? So, I just think that there’s and I think all that’s gonna be emerging, and I it’s It’s moving very, very quickly, but I think it’s gonna be a huge benefit to us as we start to streamline processes Within the workflow so that we can minimize disruptions of care and care delivery.
Lisa Blue:
It’s really so exciting to think of the, The clinical experiences I had as a student, and talking about having competencies that, now, obviously, we didn’t even have cell phones that could scan things. Right? We still had, like, brick cell phones at the time. But being able to, you know, really validate competencies and and then, you know, ensure those in those Particular areas of practice have the right competencies, you know, aligned with those areas of practice. And really, as you said, being able to streamline it, It’s such a remarkable leap forward, and very very exciting to hear that idea. So as we get close to the end of our conversation today, I’m sure there are going to be listeners that are interested in connecting with you. As I said, you’re a natural collaborator and networker. And so if they would like to reach out to you, what’s the best way that they can connect with you? Probably via email. And my email is [email protected]
Lisa Blue:
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. And Listeners, that will be in the show notes below, so you can access those to reach Doctor. Cato directly. So I’d like to give you a chance to share one story or one aspect of your work That makes you so proud. Certainly, you’ve done some really exciting and impressive things through your career, so I’m sure it’s It’s hard to just pick 1, but if you can share with us something that, you know, you you really hold on to and Maybe something you look back on in those times that that are more challenging to keep you going. What would that be?
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Oh, I think it would be, my time in Just recognizing that, you know, nurses often Do not have the human resources, the material resources to do the job that they need to do, But we are so innovative. Right? And we figure things out, and I just enjoyed watching how the nurses did that each and every day in, you know, in China. And, And I watched him do it in Slovenia, and I watched him do it in Uganda. You know? I watched him do it in other countries as well as in the United States, and I think that’s what I’m most Proud of. And if we could capture that and move those things forward and give nurses space to innovate And solve problems, I think we could redesign the healthcare system.
Lisa Blue:
Well, that’s a perfect way to a perfect note End this conversation on. Doctor. Cato, thank you so much for sharing your time with us today and your insights. I also want to note, someone, a little birdie, told me that it’s your birthday today. And so I want to say happy birthday and I want to Thank you for spending time on your birthday with us. How wonderful. I hope you have a wonderful day.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Thank you. Thank you so much. It’s really the friends and colleagues that have reached out today. It’s just been phenomenal. I am feeling the love for sure.
Lisa Blue:
I’m so glad to hear that. Have a wonderful rest of your birthday. It was an honor to talk to you about your journey, and thank you for sharing all those wonderful insights.
Dr. Dawna L. Cato:
Thank you for having me.
Lisa Blue:
Thank you for listening to happy hour, happy patients. Please consider subscribing on your platform of choice And share your favorite episodes with other health care workers who need a bright spot in their day. You could connect with my team and me directly by going to provider tech.com and clicking on connect with us. You can find the link to this in the show notes below. Have an awesome week
