I interviewed the nurse manager of a Jacksonville Outpatient Care Clinic’s Primary Care Department. She manages the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). The PACT teams are designated Red Team or Blue Team. The purpose of PACT is to achieve continuity with providers and nursing staff with the goal to improve access to care. It is team-based care that provides for the veteran’s healthcare needs and coordinates care with other specialties.
The manager oversees the primary care clinics and her responsibilities include scheduling of staff, addressing problems in the clinic as they arise. Responding to physician or veteran issues, maintaining the efficient running of the clinics. She allowed me to shadow her for a day at her clinic. I was able to observe her routine and ask interview questions throughout the day. The questions asked of the manager are below:
- Please describe the nursing and inter-professional teams that operate in the PACT teams.
There are internal medicine physicians, 1 registered nurse, 4 licensed practical nurses, social workers, pharmacist, and dietician,
- Can you provide an example of a nursing practice that has been changed in the last year based on current best evidence?
- Please identify the impact of change within your organization and your role as leader/manager in this change process
- Please identify strategies used for fiscal and human resources that contribute to the organization’s ability to deliver quality cost-effective patient-centered care
- What do you consider your biggest challenge as a leader/manager?
- What do you love most about your job?
- Why did you choose this job?
- What other kinds of nursing/other job did you ever do?
- How would you describe your company’s culture?
- How would you describe your role in admission and staffing decisions?
- What is your leadership style?