What inspired you to get involved in nursing?
My inspiration to be a nurse was a result to know more about people and what affects them and if I can be of any help to them. I can help save a life or help bring a new one into the world. I can care for patients as they recover from illness, assist families through some of the most difficult times in their lives, or I can work behind the scenes, to ensure that a patient’s rights to proper and affordable healthcare coverage are protected.
In your role at Empower AI, how do you use the skills you learned as a nurse?
In my role at Empower AI as a Medical Reviewer III, I rely on and utilize my years of clinical knowledge and my clinical skills to monitor health care documents to ensure compliance with applicable policies and procedures, checking medical records for appropriate criteria, and to collaborate with the other nurses on the medical review team to ensure all information is accurate. Medical review is necessary to help minimize the cost of hospitalizations or other treatments while still ensuring a high level of patient care.
During your career, what are some specific challenges or obstacles you have faced along the way, and how did you overcome them?
During my career, I have met challenges related to employee motivation. Keeping the lines of communication open is critical to motivation as well as acts of showing appreciation. Next, I have encountered concerns about technology and innovation. The key to overcoming this challenge is seeking and completing training on your own such as enrolling in a technology and/or software training class at a local technical school. Lastly, during my career, I have faced worries about job security and career growth. To overcome this, I seek training opportunities in areas that offer new career growth while ensuring that I keep up to date on new medical procedures and I also strive to keep my review skills current to the ever-changing healthcare policies and rules.
Based on your training, what are some of the key achievements or milestones in your career that you are proud of?
Based on my training, my key achievements in my career include 1) being promoted to the Assistant Nurse Manager role less than 3 years after completing my training as a Registered Nurse, 2) being a results-oriented and self-motivated clinical reviewer, applying my 20+ years of extensive experience in the medical review of medical records and claims management along with being a seasoned collaborator on the team, and 3) I am proud of my proven ability to train and lead teams.
With service to the country and our communities in mind, what advice do you have for others who share that commitment of serving others?
Community service and the commitment to serving others helps connect us to the community. It teaches us how significant it is to help the ones in need, the ones who are less fortunate than us. The commitment to serve others lies in the fact that it connects us to the community by improving it and making it a better place for all of us to live in. Helping others improves social support, encourages us to lead a more physically active lifestyle, distracts us from our own problems, allows us to engage in a meaningful activity and improves our self-esteem and competence.
What motivates you to continue pushing boundaries and striving for excellence in your work?
Success is what motivates me to do a good job, pushing boundaries, and striving for excellence in my work. Knowing the fact that my hard work will help me achieve greater professional success is what keeps me going. I feel that aligning the company’s vision and values with my own is one way to achieve that.
In your view, why is it important that we celebrate Nurses Week?
Nurses Week is a celebration to show appreciation for essential workers and to recognize the nursing profession’s vital and unique contributions to health care and society at large. Nurses Week gives the public and the health care industry an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the work and careers of nurses in ALL areas of the nursing profession.
Is there anything else you would like us to know about you or your work?
I enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling to the South Carolina beaches, and helping with local community groups such as Habitat for Humanity, Harvest Hope Food Pantry, and local fund raisers.