Nurses Week Q&A: chief nursing officer Mary Contreras

Mary Contreras has taken care of thousands of patients in her 35 years of nursing. As a young candy striper at Los Banos Memorial Hospital and a member of the Future Nurses Club of America, with the support of her mentors, Contreras is an example of a nurse who truly “worked her way up” in the health care field.

Today, Contreras is the chief nursing officer for the entire Community Medical Centers health care network – an undertaking showing what a nurse can do throughout his or her career by taking advantage of opportunities for advancement.

In honor of National Nurses Week, May 6 to 12, MedWatchToday.com took advantage of its own opportunity – to question Contreras about her nursing career.

What inspired you to become a nurse?
Mary Contreras: I enjoyed volunteering, as I got to work with a lot of great nurses when I was younger. One nurse in particular, Carol Booher, was a great mentor to me. I admired her and she encouraged me to choose nursing as a career.

Where did you go to nursing school? When did you graduate?
Contreras: I graduated in January 1974 with a bachelor of science in nursing from California State University, Fresno.

How long have you worked at Community?
Contreras: I have worked for the organization for 29 years [in various positions] and have been a nurse for 35 years.

Mary Contreras (left) and one of her mentors, Marge Beekman, celebrate National Nurses Week by dressing in traditional nursing outfits.

What do you do for the hospital system as chief nursing officer?
Contreras: In my role as corporate CNO I work to make sure the facility CNOs – Cynthia Cervantes, Karen Buckley and David Boyd have the support they need. I’m responsible for the nursing systems across the organization – creating the environment where clinical nursing practice can thrive. In addition, making sure that our nursing practice is consistent and standardized across the organization, so we provide the best quality patient care possible – no matter what the setting. And a big part of my role is to represent Community nursing to our board of trustees and to the outside world.

Can you tell me one of your most trying stories that tested your courage and instincts?
Contreras: There are many situations that have varied from patient to patient, but what comes to mind are those situations where the physician trusted my judgment and came in to see a patient when the clinical signs and symptoms hadn’t changed yet but I knew from experience that something was not right.

I remember one particular ICU patient who coded about five minutes after the physician arrived — we successfully resuscitated the patient but if the physician had not been there when he coded the outcome might not have been as good as it was. This was when I worked at Sierra in ICU. We didn’t have any physicians in-house in those days. As nurses, we are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are the eyes and ears for the physicians when they aren’t there. We monitor the patient’s condition and we must alert the physician when a patient is going in the wrong direction. You get to know your patients and you become intuitive to changes in their condition. Developing strong relationships with your physicians is critical. When your physicians know they can trust you and they rely on you, patients benefit.

Can you tell me about your family?
Contreras: I’ve been married for 38 years. I have a son who is a pharmacist and a daughter who is a bookkeeper and two wonderful granddaughters.

What do you like to do in your free time (when you have some)?
Contreras: In a role like this you have to make sure you can get renewed. I like to read murder mysteries and historical novels. My husband and I take our fifth wheel to locations where cell phones don’t work and where we can enjoy nature. We have a royal blue tandem bike that we like to ride around on. I love to sew when I have the time and my newest adventure is the Wii Fit that brings balance to my life. I’m also active in my church, which is an important part of my life, too.

What do you think about the future nurses and what are your hopes for them?
Contreras: I know there will be a nursing shortage for years into the future based on the predictions. My hope for the future nurses of today is that we provide them the right support and tools to be effective in what they do so that they can be the best nurses they can be. That way, our patients will get great care.

Has nursing been rewarding and why?
Contreras: You get your rewards in different ways depending on what your role is.  When in a clinical role, caring for a patient who gets better and is able to go home is a great reward, but sometimes the best thing we can do is help them through a peaceful death — working in oncology for five years taught me that can be just as, if not more, rewarding.

What was it like making the transition from being “on the floor” to an administrative position?
Contreras: I had to learn that my rewards are very different than they were when I was doing clinical work. And a big challenge can be convincing people that I’m a nurse. I don’t take care of patients — my role is to take care of the nurses and make sure we have a great environment for nurses to practice nursing. I believe having a great mentor or two when making the transition is important. I was so lucky to have mentors like Marilyn Hawkins and Marge Beekman. I learned so much from both of them.

Why is Community a great place for nurses to work?
Contreras: I talk to new nurse hires in clinical staff orientation and I tell them they can spend their entire career here at Community. We have so many opportunities where nurses can grow and learn. Some nurses have been here for years and have been happy where they began and some move around and up. I am kind of the poster child of what you can do as a nurse at Community. I have found it a great place to practice nursing — otherwise I would not be here.

This story was reported by Rebecca Wass. She can be reached at rwass@communitymedical.org.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009