Podcast: Nurses for Good Giving Circle/Bon Secours Health Service
Guest Biography
Michelle Dickerson is the Vice President of Patient Care Services and the Chief Nurse Executive for Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital and Bon Secours Virginia Outpatient Infusion Services. She received her associate’s degree in applied science from J. Sargeant Reynolds in 2004, eventually earning her bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix in 2007 and a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix in 2010. A firm believer in lifelong learning, Michelle was most recently accepted into the Doctoral of Nursing Practice program at Liberty University.
In addition to her professional role, Michelle plays a significant role in community service and annual fundraising activities for the organization. She currently serves as the chair for the Nurses for Good campaign, which is the focus of our interview. Michelle has led other organizational fund activities, such as United Way and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Central Virginia. Michelle is a native of Richmond, Virginia and currently resides in the Hanover County district.
Podcast Highlights
Here are a few of the highlights from my conversation with Michelle.
On the concept and formation of the Nurses for Good giving circle (1:52)
Nurses for Good evolved from what seemed a simple idea from a group of Bon Secours Virginia nurses that wanted to know if they could create a foundation fund that would donate their money to allocate funds for nursing programs within the health system. Their idea sparked the interest, and the Bon Secours Foundation worked to create a program where nurses gave money towards a fund that would be specifically used for a nursing grant.
"For nurses, by nurses" was the concept behind this idea and from it came Nurses for Good. This is the second year of the Nurses for Good giving circle. It gives nurses a unique opportunity to focus on a project that is chosen and funded by Bon Secours Virginia nurses, and it inspires innovative thinking of the nurses within our health system.
On how the grant process works (5:12)
Nurses for Good established a grants committee, and that is made up of nurses from all over the Virginia market. The committee reviews all grant proposals that are submitted, and any nurses that are in the Bon Secours Virginia Health System can submit a grant proposal to the Nurses for Good grant committee. The application is on the Nurses for Good website and has step-by-step instructions on how to fill out each section.
On the three categories specified for grant proposals (6:15)
There are three categories that were chosen by the Nurses for Good grants committee and the steering committee in order to ensure that the grant proposals submitted fit into the Bon Secours Virginia strategic quality plan, mission, vision, and values. Those three categories are: Workplace, Lifelong Learning, and Community Health. Grant proposals submitted to the Workplace category are focused on enhancing the environment that (where) Bon Secours nurses practice and care for their patients. Lifelong Learning focuses on empowering the Bon Secours nurses to grow personally and professionally. And Community Health is Bon Secours nurses promoting health and wholeness for our community.
On choosing CPI’s Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training with one of the Nurses for Good grants (12:12)
The first awardee was the Bon Secours Virginia Certification University. This program provides study materials and educational opportunities for nurses to obtain national certifications, as well as pre-payment options for first-time applicants to ease the financial burden. The second, yours truly, was the awardee for the Bon Secours Virginia Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Training Program. (The) Bon Secours Virginia and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program is designed to expand and enhance CPI training in hospitals within Bon Secours Virginia systems.
The goals of the program are to reduce the risk of injury to staff, patients, and visitors; improve staff retention; minimize organization exposure to liability related to incidences; and expand the escalation training to include additional acute, outpatient, home health, and Care-A-Van personnel.