Nurses Week Q&A: Fresno Heart & Surgical's Cynthia Cervantes

Cervantes, chief nursing officer at Fresno Heart & Surgical Hospital, got her first nursing job during National Nurses Week in 1986. She had just graduated from the Fresno State nursing program and came to work as an extern in a medical/surgical unit with cancer patients at the downtown hospital, known then as Fresno Community Hospital.

In her two decades with Community Medical Centers, she’s worked in three different hospitals in telemetry, emergency and trauma and cardiac surgery jobs. She rose through the administrative ranks and got her nurse practitioner/physicians assistant training through UC Davis while raising two boys as a single parent.

Nearing the 23rd anniversary of her nurse’s pinning, Cervantes sat down to talk about her profession and her passion:

What made you want to become a nurse?
Cynthia Cervantes: When I was 14, I worked at Fresno Community Hospital as a candy striper. I worked two years and I absolutely loved it. ... And I knew I wanted to work at Community because of that experience. St. Agnes was such a pretty hospital but the nurses just weren’t nice. I always felt very dedicated to Community as an extern on my first job.

Who was your first mentor?
Cervantes: My very first – what you’d call a mentor – was Marzelle. I was so green. The LVN would say, ‘Hands out of your pocket. Now you don’t want to chew gum, and you want to have your stethoscope around your neck this way. And always look busy!’ I knew how to do vital signs and make a bed – and that was it. I had been a waitress my whole life before then.

How was the transition from bedside to administration?
Cervantes: I really like problem solving and working with people. I felt like we were missing a lot of those basics and I felt like I could instill those basics back in to nursing. I was old-schooled in nursing by some great mentors. Being able to select people and mentor them was really exciting and every day is different.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job? 
Cervantes: I’ve had a lot of great experiences. For me, it’s working with some of the patients who have had open heart surgery and their families, seeing them before surgery and educating them, then seeing them after surgery and having the families say, ‘Thank you,  you gave us all this info and made us feel so at ease.’ In my nurse practioner training they really emphasized working with the whole person and the families.

What’s the most important part of what you do in your role at Fresno Heart & Surgical?
Cervantes: I feel my main contribution is taking advantage of the opportunity to really go back to basics, to go back to the practice and look at evidence-based processes … We’re in the middle of that role-based training and I feel very proud that I was able to implement it here and make sure all the nurses get the formal education. ... Our employee satisfaction is high, our patient satisfaction is high, our outcomes are good and our core measures are good, but what can we do so at some point we can become a magnet hospital? I really believe in the professional practice. I’m really old school. I run a tight ship. If they’re a nurse here at this facility, they’re going to work in the mold of nurse from 40 years ago.

What makes your day fun?
Cervantes: It’s small here and everyone knows your name. That’s one of our tag lines here when I talk to new nurses. Most hospitals would like to make sure they are warm and inviting. This truly is. I round every day and I hear such nice things from patients about our nurses.

What kinds of things do you notice when you walk through the hospital that most of us might not be looking for? 
Cervantes: We’re all in uniform and everyone’s happy. They all say “Hi!” from across the hallway. If I don’t see that, I’m looking for it.

What’s key to becoming a “successful” nurse?
Cervantes: I look back at my nursing career and I think, I don’t think I was that assertive when I started. I talk to new nurses and tell them this: The key is knowing your resources and accepting that you will not know everything so you have to ask. I used to think that I had to know everything. But once you accept that you can’t, it’s easier. And over time through that knowledge and sharing with your peers, you will become that resource. You have to know when to ask, who to ask and just ask.

What do you do when you’re not nursing?
Cervantes: I have a lot of family here and I have two granddaughters. They’re 3 and 4 – at the perfect age and they always want to have tea parties. Plus I love to travel. I’m going to Italy later in the year.

Watch for coming Q&As with other Community chief nursing officers to celebrate Nurses Week,
May 6 to 12.

This story was reported by Erin Kennedy. She can be reached at ekennedy@communitymedical.org.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009