Hello everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Pierre Florendo. I’ve been a registered nurse for just over a decade and have been a Director of Care for just under a year. I have a beautiful, supportive wife, and bundles of energy (son and daughter) aged 4 and 2 respectively.
I did not initially choose to be a nurse – Filipino nurses are a stereotype for a reason! See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYjVZ14eb0c for a humorous take [Warning: Profanity]. As much as I tried to avoid becoming one (and turning into my parents), I could not escape the uniform. I honestly thought that I would be happy in tech, but the dot-com bubble denied those dreams. Still, I didn’t want to be a nurse. It took leaving the country of my birth (Canada) and moving to the country of my ethnicity (Philippines) to finally get me into a nursing school. Imagine my surprise when I found out I had an aptitude for it.
Looking over my life and career, I have noted multiple times where I lacked either direction, alignment, or commitment to anything meaningful. I call these times my Jonah moments, in reference to the prophet who ran away to Tarshish. And, yes, I can also describe the whales that changed my life and dragged me back to the divine strategic plan.
Now that I am a leader (another whale!), I see the value in strategic leadership, especially in health care. Many leaders, especially politicians, appear reluctant to change health care. For them, health care “is the third rail. Touch it and you die” (Simpson, 2012). Many others in health care have become comfortable with current practice and see no need to change. However, current practice will only lead to mediocre results. If leaders want effective change, they must create direction, alignment, and commitment for lasting results (Hughes, Beatty, & Dinwoodie, 2014).
I am looking forward to learning alongside with you!
References:
Hughes, R. L., Beatty, K. M., & Dinwoodie, D. (2014).Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. John Wiley & Sons.
Simpson, J. (2012). Chronic condition: Why Canada’s health-care system needs to be dragged into the 21st century. Toronto: Allen Lane.