Author: cfreed

Nurse of Excellence

Ashley Charles Bleich, RN

A pleasure to meet you, Charles! How are you spending your summer thus far?

Hey all, I am so pleasantly surprised and honored to be chosen as the Nurse of Excellence with White Glove! June and July are months when staff nurses get their wings to take their vacations. This creates a severe staffing shortage in the unit. As an agency nurse, I felt it is right to help fill in the gaps. My summer has been a long stretch of overtime, rounding up more than twenty shifts in the month. Atypical, I would work approximately twelve shifts. I received an award from the hospital for administering the most medications in June, more than any other nurse in the entire hospital!

Don’t feel bad for me though, I have an exciting trip to Brazil scheduled for the end of August, with my wife, Luiza, celebrating her 30th Birthday! Luiza’s parents live in Brazil along with most of her extended family. We have been to Brazil before, yet it will be our first trip traveling in a group with a whole bunch of family friends!

For the first half of the trip, we are staying together as a group in a luxury Airbnb mansion just blocks from the sunny beach. Then, we are planning to continue our sightseeing on a cruise hopping to several islands. We are looking forward to celebrating Luiza’s birthday on one of the days there with the full extended family!

Please share something in nursing you are very passionate about.

I have worked with Psyche patients ever since I launched my RN career. I strongly believe in destigmatizing mental health. Treating addiction, depression, or other mental issues is only one aspect of recovery. We must teach patients life skills to help patients reintegrate into society once they have been treated.

Are there aspects of the job you find challenging?

Negative outcomes are sometimes inevitable. It is difficult to create that perfect disconnect with your patient to avoid the emotional toll it can make on your body.

What are some future goals you have for your career?

I recently went back to school for my NP, striving to have my practice several years from now. My goal is to change the lives of even more folks.

How do you unwind after work to keep a healthy work-life balance?

It is important to be active and exercise when you work those long shifts. I exercise at the gym nearly every day. The weekend is my optimal recharge. I love spending time at Harriman State Park, which has very intricate hiking trails to gear up and get moving!

My very absolute favorite is playing music. I can play several instruments, but my drum is a clear winner to give energy out along with every beat! We recently arranged a small band with more nurses on the unit, something I am greatly looking forward to!

Any message you would like to impart to more nurses?

We do great things every day! Let us keep going!

A sincere thanks to White Glove for helping us make it happen!

Sharing a huge congratulations upon White Glove being rated a top place to work for Millennials!

Why Millennials Matter.

If you make a graph, millennials will shade more than 50% of the nursing supply.

Gen Y is different than the preceding baby boomers or Gen X because their outlook and goals are through a different lens. More than ever, millennials will love to indulge in meaningful challenges as they will seek purpose and fulfillment. At White Glove Placement, we are here to navigate the multigenerational workforce to keep a positive climate for everyone to thrive.

Millennials need a purpose to go on. They must feel that their job is not just another job. White Glove helps them attain those goals. To some extent, working in healthcare is naturally rewarding by experiencing the satisfaction of giving. When you observe a patient’s progress, you know you spent your day well.

Clarity and convenience also play a role in the life of Gen Y nurses. They want to know their expectations to ensure their success. We are determined to provide the proper guidance for every nurse, by having unparalleled available support 24 hours a day, every day.

White Glove encourages its employees to share ideas for change because we value every individual employee, and we want to make it a better workplace. In a survey conducted by Virtuali and WorkPlace Trends, 91% of respondents expressed a desire to lead. Millennials have great ideas, and they want management to be open to hearing them. And we want to hear from you. Your sentiment is important because you are a key member of our organization.

The hottest button for people in Gen Y is to find an inclusive employer. Everyone deserves equal opportunity regardless of race, color, age, religion, gender, or other outer distinctions.

Linda Markowitz, Chief Executive Officer at White Glove Placement stresses. “At White Glove we believe that equality in the workplace is more profound than any non-discrimination policy. We appreciate the strength that diversity brings to our organization, and we offer compensation and promotions by virtue of talent and contribution.”

Millennials feel that more than just the dollar amount they are being paid, it is important for them to work for an employer who shares the company profits with their employees. We keep our profit margins substantially lower than the industry average, aligning with the White Glove philosophy that those responsible for the White Glove successes should enjoy a winning pay and fabulous benefits package.

Whether you are in Gen Z, Y, X, or Baby Boomer – we are here to help you reach your goals in an environment where you can just be you. Still, it meant a lot when Great Place to Work named White Glove Placement  a Best Employer for Millennials. What they say about us is meaningful because once again they base it on what our caregivers and employees say, so the feedback is real. Click to join us now.

Mina, a pleasure to meet you! Can you tell us more about you?

I’m a nurse by accident, that is, I never planned to be a nurse. Growing up in Nepal meant that my career decisions waited until I got to New York in the early 2000s.

Business Management was an attractive choice, seeming to offer lucrative opportunities in California where I settled.  While I was waiting for my acceptance to college, I took some healthcare classes. Suddenly, I had clarity, that nursing was it!

People ask me why I didn’t go for nursing in the first place. I don’t have an answer, rather I’ve got the same question.

Right out of school in 2012 I started out in a nursing home. Seeing the lifecycle was bluntly depressing. It is sad to see the elders being disrespected then moving on. In long term care it was easy for your mind to start being consumed with end of life fears all day which started driving me a bit crazy. I took on a temporary assignment in the mother-baby unit, a 360 degree turn from the last quarter of life, to beginning of life. L & D and mother baby units are delightful and warm. Parents are grateful, and I was just plain happy.

Every day in nursing we make a difference, what was a day you felt you marked as special?

In nursing we must expect the unknown. You can never predict your shift, that’s what adds the suspenseful factor to the job, keeping you on your toes. Working in mother baby is not like ER or ICU where it is literally roller coaster curves at every given moment. Still, there are those moments. I won’t forget the time as a new nurse in the L & D when a healthy patient was delivering with no complications abruptly went into cardiac arrest. By acting quick, I was able to save the mother and baby, it felt like an infinite endeavor where I was truly able to touch a life, save a baby and a mother from the worst.

At the current time, I work on an L & D floor servicing a bulk of high-risk patient clientele. You need to keep a watchful eye, have your knowledge at the forefront, and be prepared and vigilant for everything to run smoothly.

What do you love doing in your spare time to refresh after a hard day?

 I love to travel! I have visited many Asian countries throughout the years. Observing different cultures is fascinating! Spending time with family and friends helps keep you young and fresh to make everything be great, especially when that equation involves food!!

What is a challenging aspect of working on the L&D or mother baby unit?

It is very painful to see a parent losing a child! Somehow, when you work in long term care you sometimes see death, but it’s different. Sort of, you expect it.  The life cycle is natural when it happens. Seeing the hope of infancy not making it is sad. They never saw the world.

What is a message you would love to impart to more nurses?

White Glove recruiters are so dedicated to your needs, and extraordinary fast paced! Join them and you’ll love your job!

Hey Raihana, we’d love to hear more about you!

Born to a mom who is a nurse, I idolized the stethoscope, scrubs and everything they stood for, envisioning myself wearing it someday. Seeing people happy makes me happy. Like many nurses, the medical line was a definite yes for my career, the only question mark being the specific niche to pin my dreams. My initial plan while doing my pre-med was to become a doctor, yet when we were starting the hands-on experience, I noticed that the nurses held the direct patient role, that truly touched the hearts of patients with direct caring. What I realized was that they did far more than what was known to the public. I wanted to be one of those nurses.

Nursing is fabulous, giving you the opportunity at every corner. Back when I was an NYC resident, then when I relocated to the sunny south state, Florida! A few months ago, when I was traveling back to New York, I was welcomed to incredible offers just again!

How do you find your nursing different than how you envisioned it while studying in nursing school?

When you’re in nursing school, you think bedside nursing. I was sure I’d be running around on the floor, administering medication, and doing just about everything the way it was taught.

But somehow, I found myself in care management, or administrative nursing. The flavor is very different than floor nursing, but I love it. What’s so incredible about it is the ability to create programs to empower the lives of numerous people, not only for home health, but for palliative care too. Additionally, being the rock of support and guidance for patients and their families makes every day worthwhile! Working from home is an added perk to my workbasket, though I must be extra tuned in to keep going and run the treadmill every day to keep my body moving!

What are some non – nursing interests you have that keep you going?

Reading is my favorite, and so is listening to pleasant music! I am a mom of two teenagers, so I’ll give myself credit for being a great mom, enjoying spending time together. Keion, 18, and Aaliyah, 16, are the best friends I could ever have asked for!

Yet out of all my hobbies, Mission trips combines my love for people and my inner calling.

I have been to many countries in Africa, Uganda, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Israel, the Philippines. We usually set up tents in the town square, the word passes from mouth to mouth.

We mainly focus on testing and diagnosing. Sometimes, those communities have people who haven’t seen doctors since birth because well visits are so expensive. Many times, we are able to diagnose serious illness from obvious symptoms.

We also bring awareness by teaching youths about their health, how to keep a better and healthier lifestyle to create an improved future for them.

I am always inspired to see those communities, despite having so little, they want to share with us whatever they have. Happy children roam the streets playing, they greet us, strangers with genuine appreciation and interest.

Is there anything you would like to share with us of someone who inspired you throughout your nursing journey?

 I must take this time to shout out to Dorothy, my White Glove Placement Specialist who inspires me every day! She is always sprite, positive and determined that the day is great, or else she’ll make it be! Thank you, Dorothy, for being there for me, and thank you for everyone on this amazing team!

Any message you would like to impart to more nurses?

It is important to stay mindful and enjoy what we do, to remember why we started out this incredible journey to begin with!