OR Manager August 2022 - 7

Leadership Series
strengths and identify and work on my
weaknesses. As a mentor, I too try to
help my mentees realize their strengths
and weaknesses so they can work on
becoming better nurses. A mentor who
is not afraid to constructively discuss
a mentee's short-comings is critical for
the mentee to become effective and
successful.
Mentoring is at the center of what
shapes leaders, and mentors can have
a huge impact on exciting people about
furthering their education. I got my PhD,
but I know many nurses who do not
want to pursue a doctorate. What can
we do to encourage people to continue
their education? Even if it is just taking
a class, or going to an AORN chapter
meeting, or attending an OR Manager
conference, or participating in a state
association-these are valuable educational
opportunities that should be encouraged.
I
have always shared my career path
with nurses: I got an associate degree
in nursing, went right into working in the
OR, and then I got my bachelor's degree
in nursing. And then I got my master's,
and then my PhD.
I had been in the
OR about 8 or 9 years when I thought,
" There's so much in the OR. There are
so many specialties. I want to do something
well. I want to really become an
expert in something. " That is what drove
me; I wanted people to Google search
" Kay Ball " and see that I was clearly
associated with and leading an area of
expertise.
Q: What is your proudest
moment?
My proudest moment was when I received
in print my first laser book. I
wanted to share my passion for laser
technology in healthcare, and writing a
book was the ultimate pathway in accomplishing
that.
I achieved what I set out to do.
When people want to know what Kay
Ball's specialty is, they will find it is
laser technology. I have written four
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Q: What is the toughest part of
being in charge?
The toughest part is allowing your staff
members to make mistakes so they can
learn from them, but only as long as patient
safety is not compromised.
I think nurses realize there is so
much in the nursing field. Some of them
get overwhelmed and say, " I can't put
one more thing in my brain. I can't learn
one more activity. " They burn out, and
because of that constant push to learn
more skills, they leave the OR.
If you can inspire these nurses to
take on new tasks and new abilities,
in a way where they continue to invest
in themselves, then they will become
tomorrow's leaders because they are
going to learn how to teach.
Mentors are role models, too. There
is so much in healthcare that can be
very exciting. A good mentor helps peobooks
on lasers, and my name is associated
with various articles, books, and
other materials. I wanted to share this
new technology that I had mastered
with my colleagues. Now when people
look up Kay Ball, they see lasers, they
see surgical smoke, and I am seen as
an expert. I am immensely proud of
that.
And that is all part of leadership because
even if nobody calls you an expert,
you still get called in as an expert
when it is time to advocate for something.
That is why I said earlier that all
leaders need to be well
informed because
their knowledge will get tested at
some point.
Another very proud moment was
when I walked, as national president of
AORN in 1993, into the opening session.
My board walked before me and
I was the last person to walk in. This
walk was critical because it symbolized
the trust that the AORN members had
in me to conduct the business of our
professional organization and represent
our perioperative nursing universe to the
world during my presidency.
ple focus amidst so much information
and opens venues for sharing.
I remember when I first started in the
OR, there were some nurses who did
not want to share what they knew. They
wanted to be the ones who got called
upon for a case because nobody else
knew how to do this or that.
But there is enough for everybody to
be able to share and not hog knowledge
within yourself. I have seen nurses even
hide special instruments in their lockers
because they want to be the ones to
provide them for a procedure. That is
not conducive to a team-focused culture
and leaders should not encourage that.
Q: What was the hardest lesson
in your first year in the OR?
The most difficult lesson I learned in my
first year was that the human body was
very durable but also very fragile at the
same time. I wanted to learn everything
about every surgical procedure immediately
to be the best perioperative nurse
I could be, but I had to learn patience
because this is something that can only
be conquered over time.
I also quickly learned there are different
approaches you can take to accomplish
your tasks. The biggest myth in the
OR is that there is a " gold standard "
for everything. The surgical environment
is so dynamic and everchanging with
new products and devices, procedures,
skills, safety measures, and so on, that
a gold standard does not last for very
long.
Just think of how laparoscopic cholecystectomy
evolved. Some felt that
a long upper right abdominal incision
needed to be made to remove the gall
bladder-that was the gold standard.
Then laparoscopy in general surgery became
so popular that making a long
incision was no longer needed in most
cases. Surgery continues to evolve and
advance, making many gold standards
outdated.
Continued on page 8
OR Manager | August 2022
7
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OR Manager August 2022

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