A Tremendous Desire to make a Difference
Kathy Wright, MSN, RN
During 18 years at Summa Health System, Kathy Wright, MSN, RN, has been a geriatrics clinical nurse specialist in an outpatient geriatrics assessment center and an advanced practice nurse for a managed Medicare program. For the past eight years, she has conducted research as part of an interdisciplinary group that develops and tests interventions to improve care throughout the Akron, Ohio-based hospital system.
Kathy Wright, MSN, RN
“It’s unusual for a small community hospital that is not tied to a university to have such a unique research program,” says Mrs. Wright. Summa’s Health Services Research and Education Institute brings together physicians, medical students, and nurses to collaborate on research. One example includes a study funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Summa Foundation focusing on care management for low income frail older adults after discharge from the hospital. Mrs. Wright was one of four co-investigators on this study.
Throughout her career at Summa, Mrs. Wright only considered herself “an informal leader.” This attitude has changed since Mrs. Wright entered the first cohort of the Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy. The program has heightened her self confidence.
“Some of my characteristics and traits are actually leadership traits,” she says, in particular she cites her rapport with coworkers. Mrs. Wright’s mentor, Rose Beeson, PhD, RN, elaborates: “She has a tremendous desire to make a difference in the lives of older adults. As her self-esteem grows, her enthusiasm grows, and other people want to join her.”
“I didn’t realize I had a leadership vision until I was asked to articulate one during the Leadership Academy,” says Mrs. Wright. She wants to assist older adults as they make transitions between settings. Older adults are often discharged from the hospital without the tools they need to manage their own care.
“One of my goals is to empower older adults regarding their own health care,” says Mrs. Wright. This is especially important because older adults who take several medications may not have an organized system. This can lead
to medication error.
Kathy Wright works with an older adult to avoid medication errors.
To reduce the likelihood of medication error, Mrs. Wright designed a project that gives older adults a tool to maintain an accurate medication record. Working with Dr. Beeson, Director of the Center for Gerontological Health Nursing and Advocacy, College of Nursing, The University of Akron, Mrs. Wright is conducting a pilot study with 30 older adults at the Summa Health System outpatient Internal Medicine and Family Practice clinic. Participants receive a medication bag in which to place pill bottles to take to physician visits along with a medication log. “The idea is to show patients how to record and reconcile their medications with the doctor on their own,” says Mrs. Wright.
With help from Dr. Beeson, Mrs. Wright designed the project as a research study, with the potential for publication. “The mentorship has been the best part of this program,” says Mrs. Wright. “Dr. Beeson gave me the courage to decide to get my doctorate.”
Mrs. Wright is now a PhD student at the University of Utah College of Nursing, Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence.
Dr. Beeson is impressed with Mrs. Wright’s potential to be an influential nurse leader, having witnessed how Mrs. Wright’s enthusiasm has drawn some of Dr. Beeson’s advanced practice nursing students, who are assisting with the pilot study, to become interested in gerontology. “She already had the capability, she just needed some encouragement,” says Dr. Beeson.
Next: Profile in Leadership
Overcoming Obstacles by Articulating a Vision
Amy E. Cotton, MSN, FNP ›