The minister of praise and hope
By Sam Marie Engle
What do a gospel singer and a critical care nurse have in common?
Answer: they’re both Michele Bailey, RN, assistant nurse manager for imaging services at Emory University Hospital Midtown.
“It was a lot of fun and a lot of travel,” the Kansas City, Kansas native says about her time with the Garth Gabriel Singers. “We did a lot of concerts in churches. The one I remember the most was going to Garth’s home town – Detroit – and doing a concert there. We had a huge turnout and people loved us. It was one of those experiences you don’t forget, raising your voice in praise and having hundreds of people cheer you.” The lilt in her voice evinces the singer still inside the nurse.
Answer: they’re both Michele Bailey, RN, assistant nurse manager for imaging services at Emory University Hospital Midtown.
“It was a lot of fun and a lot of travel,” the Kansas City, Kansas native says about her time with the Garth Gabriel Singers. “We did a lot of concerts in churches. The one I remember the most was going to Garth’s home town – Detroit – and doing a concert there. We had a huge turnout and people loved us. It was one of those experiences you don’t forget, raising your voice in praise and having hundreds of people cheer you.” The lilt in her voice evinces the singer still inside the nurse.
Not in kansas city anymore
After graduating from nursing school in the early 1990s, Michele worked at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City on the Med/Surg Unit. She was picked to participate in their critical care training program. Nurses who completed the intense program could choose whether they wanted a permanent position in the ICU or the emergency department. Michele always had an interest in caring for ICU patients and so she spent the next two years in the ICU.
When her family relocated to Atlanta in 1995, Michele went to work as an ICU/CCU nurse in what then was called Crawford Long Hospital. She thrived in the fast-paced environment. After 18 years, including 8 years in the Cath Lab, she took on the challenge of putting together a patient database for the TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) team, work she did from her in-home office. While working from home was nice, Michele missed the direct interaction with patients and colleagues. A chance meeting with the nursing director for the Department of Radiology resulted in Michele joining the Emory University Hospital Midtown radiology team in 2015.
“I need to be around people and patients,” she says simply.”
When her family relocated to Atlanta in 1995, Michele went to work as an ICU/CCU nurse in what then was called Crawford Long Hospital. She thrived in the fast-paced environment. After 18 years, including 8 years in the Cath Lab, she took on the challenge of putting together a patient database for the TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) team, work she did from her in-home office. While working from home was nice, Michele missed the direct interaction with patients and colleagues. A chance meeting with the nursing director for the Department of Radiology resulted in Michele joining the Emory University Hospital Midtown radiology team in 2015.
“I need to be around people and patients,” she says simply.”
the best kept secret
Michele thrives on being part of a team, on bringing order where there is chaos, on finding a way through even the most challenging times. She gets it all with Emory Radiology.
“Radiology is the best kept secret in the hospital. We have multiple modalities that diagnose and treat patients using imaging technology, and they all play an important role in helping people. I like the diversity and how we’re responsible for both pre- and post- care. We’re not just doing one thing all the time.”
A typical day starts with morning huddles, followed by meetings to deal with various issues. Michele’s most important task, she says, is “Making sure staff have what they need to have a good experience at work and for our patients to have a good experience receiving care.”
Over the past year or so, Michele has been part of the team preparing for radiology to move into the new Winship Cancer Center building on the Midtown campus. “I really enjoy the opportunity to work with this team and build the new facility from the ground up. We’ve worked hard to make sure the building and services are top notch, and that we have everything needed to deliver exceptional patient care. I’m looking forward to having our patients and staff in a fully functioning state-of-the-art building."
With the building scheduled to open this summer, hiring is in full swing. Michele is interviewing and bringing in nurses for the new building as well as for imaging services in the hospital. It’s a challenge, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Critical staffing was a by-product of the pandemic. Once staffing got so low, we had to make tough choices, including forgoing vacations to carry out the business of the day. We had to learn new ways to do the work.”
“Radiology is the best kept secret in the hospital. We have multiple modalities that diagnose and treat patients using imaging technology, and they all play an important role in helping people. I like the diversity and how we’re responsible for both pre- and post- care. We’re not just doing one thing all the time.”
A typical day starts with morning huddles, followed by meetings to deal with various issues. Michele’s most important task, she says, is “Making sure staff have what they need to have a good experience at work and for our patients to have a good experience receiving care.”
Over the past year or so, Michele has been part of the team preparing for radiology to move into the new Winship Cancer Center building on the Midtown campus. “I really enjoy the opportunity to work with this team and build the new facility from the ground up. We’ve worked hard to make sure the building and services are top notch, and that we have everything needed to deliver exceptional patient care. I’m looking forward to having our patients and staff in a fully functioning state-of-the-art building."
With the building scheduled to open this summer, hiring is in full swing. Michele is interviewing and bringing in nurses for the new building as well as for imaging services in the hospital. It’s a challenge, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Critical staffing was a by-product of the pandemic. Once staffing got so low, we had to make tough choices, including forgoing vacations to carry out the business of the day. We had to learn new ways to do the work.”
finding joy again
Michele doesn’t just imagine herself in her direct reports’ shoes, she slaps the shoes on her own feet. “I was doing bedside nursing and doing whatever was needed right alongside my nurses at the height of the pandemic. We had unity at first. After a while, though, the stress and burnout came into play. People were losing family members, friends, coworkers. I found myself doing a lot of motivational speeches to encourage staff to stay positive and pull together.”
Once the waves of COVID receded, Michele went all-out to show her team how much she appreciated them and to thank them for their hard work and sacrifices.
“I cooked and brought in food and served them and that went over well. I also presented each of them with a plaque with their photo on it and a thank you for their commitment and dedication during COVID. Now we can exhale and enjoy some of the things we did before the pandemic, such as potlucks, to maintain unity and engagement. It’s so important to find ways to have joy again.”
It's this kind of personal interaction that Michele finds so fulfilling. “The best part of my job is supporting my staff because it ties into how well we serve our patients. We work with a very diverse range of patients and other personnel before, during, and after an imaging procedure. It’s a big, big, big deal for us to make sure our patients, most of whom are cancer patients, experience some kind of joy when they are with us. The whole team – radiologists, APPs, techs, nursing staff, managers—everyone matters in how well we serve our patients. We have to take care of each other so we can be our best taking care of our patients.”
Once the waves of COVID receded, Michele went all-out to show her team how much she appreciated them and to thank them for their hard work and sacrifices.
“I cooked and brought in food and served them and that went over well. I also presented each of them with a plaque with their photo on it and a thank you for their commitment and dedication during COVID. Now we can exhale and enjoy some of the things we did before the pandemic, such as potlucks, to maintain unity and engagement. It’s so important to find ways to have joy again.”
It's this kind of personal interaction that Michele finds so fulfilling. “The best part of my job is supporting my staff because it ties into how well we serve our patients. We work with a very diverse range of patients and other personnel before, during, and after an imaging procedure. It’s a big, big, big deal for us to make sure our patients, most of whom are cancer patients, experience some kind of joy when they are with us. The whole team – radiologists, APPs, techs, nursing staff, managers—everyone matters in how well we serve our patients. We have to take care of each other so we can be our best taking care of our patients.”
the ministry of hope
The gospel singer—that young woman who raised her voice in a ministry of praise—resurfaces. “I encourage my staff spiritually because that’s how we make it, that’s what helps us manage and navigate the hard things we face. I tell my staff, “As a manager, I am here for you, to serve you.” As an example of leadership, I see Jesus who washed his disciples’ feet. That’s my view of leadership: to serve those I manage, to make their job easier, better, more rewarding.”
Michele encourages her staff to see their roles as more than nurses. “My message to them is this: “The service we are providing is not just a procedure. We are ministering to our patients. We have to show them love and show them compassion so they can have hope. Good attitudes, good energy feed hope. We have to be prepared for the patients, especially those who may not be having a good day. Some patients may feel like they want to give up, so, it's important to take the time to talk to them and minister to them in whatever way we can.”
The team continually thinks up new ways to help patients feel good, if only for a little while. “When our patients who have been getting chemo come to have their port removed, we let them ring a bell and give them a wrist band with an encouraging quote. It’s a celebration of an important milestone in their care.”
The work is multi-tasking and busy, so Michele has ways to recharge her batteries that include church, travel, good movies and making memories with her family, including her twin sister.
“It ties together: making memories with my family gives me the energy to make a positive memory for our patients.”
She also is a “big” NFL and college basketball fan. “We had a big party for the Super Bowl game, and our team (the Kansas City Chiefs) sealed the deal. The high lasted for at least a week!”
You can bet her patients and colleagues shared that wave of good energy, too.
Michele encourages her staff to see their roles as more than nurses. “My message to them is this: “The service we are providing is not just a procedure. We are ministering to our patients. We have to show them love and show them compassion so they can have hope. Good attitudes, good energy feed hope. We have to be prepared for the patients, especially those who may not be having a good day. Some patients may feel like they want to give up, so, it's important to take the time to talk to them and minister to them in whatever way we can.”
The team continually thinks up new ways to help patients feel good, if only for a little while. “When our patients who have been getting chemo come to have their port removed, we let them ring a bell and give them a wrist band with an encouraging quote. It’s a celebration of an important milestone in their care.”
The work is multi-tasking and busy, so Michele has ways to recharge her batteries that include church, travel, good movies and making memories with her family, including her twin sister.
“It ties together: making memories with my family gives me the energy to make a positive memory for our patients.”
She also is a “big” NFL and college basketball fan. “We had a big party for the Super Bowl game, and our team (the Kansas City Chiefs) sealed the deal. The high lasted for at least a week!”
You can bet her patients and colleagues shared that wave of good energy, too.