Continuing Education Courses Empower Philadelphia Clinical Manager
Jared O'Donnell, RN, is a clinical manager for BAYADA Home Health Care mentoring staff, and oversees the care of adult clients in the Philadelphia assistive care office.
Can you describe your duties as a clinical manager?
"The role of clinical manager encompasses a variety of responsibilities - some in the office, others in the field. The field responsibilities involve making visits to our client's home, performing assessments, advocating for the client, educating both staff and client, identifying and fulfilling the client's needs, and collaborating with the client's family and any other disciplines or agencies to create a personalized plan of care. As administrators, we are documenting visits made earlier in the day, reviewing employees notes and records, or coordinating care with other disciplines or agencies. As educators, we are completing employee competencies, participating in orientations, counseling field employees, implementing new policies and procedures, and evaluating possible new hires."
What continuing education is required for your role?
"All RNs must complete 30 hours of continuing education biennially in order to keep our licenses current. Fortunately, the company I work for values education, and my supervisor often encourages me and my peers to enroll in various educational conferences. In addition to going to conferences, BAYADA has an online classroom where you can complete CEUs and take classes that are developed specifically for my role. Having these classes empowers me to consistently improve my skills through education, evaluation, and training."
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
"Be flexible. There are great jobs out there, but sometimes you have to be willing to adapt. Graduating from nursing school, I thought I knew exactly where my career was headed; I was going to get a job at a hospital. It was a huge surprise to find out that there was a hiring freeze and very few nurses were getting hospital jobs. After earning my nursing license, I was very eager to make a difference and was not willing to accept any work outside of my field. So, I expanded my search to areas where I had family and to nursing fields I hadn't previously considered. My journey began as a hospice nurse in Vermont, which was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I found an excellent organization with even better staff who helped me break out of the nursing student role to become a fully actualized RN, confident in his skills."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
