Board of Directors Spotlight: Michael Szeliga
Welcome to the Board Directors Spotlight series. Meet Michael Szeliga, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CMSRN, CPHQ, who holds a director position on the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) Board of Directors. He has over 12 years of nursing experience (all in medical-surgical nursing) and is tri-certified as a medical-surgical nurse (CMSRN), adult gerontology clinical nurse specialist (AGCNS-BC), and healthcare quality professional (CPHQ). On the AMSN Board of Directors, he serves as the liaison to the Premier Recognition in the Specialty of Medical-Surgical (PRISM) Award Committee. Michael currently is a clinical nurse specialist in the Acute Medicine Service Line at ChristianaCare in Newark, Delaware, and is clinical faculty at Widener University’s graduate nursing program. Get to know Michael here.
What does medical-surgical nursing mean to you?
My medical-surgical nursing practice to me is so multidimensional. When people discuss the specialty, one common phrase that continues to pop up is foundational. I agree wholeheartedly, but I’d like to take that a step further with the word transformational. Because of the variety and complexity of the medical-surgical specialty and the populations we serve, we are integral to innovation stewardship as we seek to deliver unique, new models of care and strategies to meet the diverse needs of our environment. The clinical expertise and the drive to investigate and produce for meaningful best practice questions and solutions makes medical-surgical nursing a true contributor to innovation in the profession of nursing!
What is the value of volunteer leadership?
I define the value of volunteer leadership as a sense of gratitude for having the privilege to be in a room with dynamic change agents helping to lead a positive impact in a more profound way. As a reflection on my “why” that keeps me going, it really is all about change. Change is constant; progress is not. Feeling like I can contribute to the larger dialogue in healthcare is one of the great privileges of my professional career.
What’s on your mind this month?
As we enter my favorite season, there are a few things that have been on my mind lately:
- The Future of the Profession: The arrival of nursing students in their clinical rotations recharges my battery on such a profound level. Their excitement gives me excitement, and it’s such a wonderful opportunity to get them interested in the medical-surgical specialty!
- Mental Health: Oct. 10 was World Mental Health Day, which always has me reflecting on the peaks and pits that I have had in my own journey in life. We are only good for others if we are first good for ourselves. Simon Sinek spoke about the “8 Minute Concept,” where dedicating eight minutes of authentic, genuine connection with a friend can make a significant impact on their well-being. Check in with a friend today!
- Healthy Work Environment: It is incredibly hard work to develop a culture that empowers us to be our best selves. It requires compassion, commitment, and connection to develop that vision and take it to the finish line. When we have a safe and equitable work environment, everybody wins!
How did you get started with AMSN?
I got involved in AMSN when I was recruited to be a clinical nurse specialist at my organization back in 2018. My manager/mentor was a transformational leader and had a vision for us to become an exemplary PRISM Award-winning medical unit to celebrate the unique contributions our unit made to nursing practice and the specialty of medical-surgical nursing. Investigation into PRISM led me to discover the wonderful resource and representation for my professional practice that I had in AMSN.
Admittedly, I had already been certified for three years as a CMSRN but had not been connected to the larger professional organization at that time. I look back at those three years as such a missed opportunity where I could have been elevating my practice in a more meaningful way when I was a bedside nurse. I got involved to be part of the conversation about shaping the future of our nursing and have not looked back since!
What was your journey to the AMSN Board of Directors, and why did you decide to join the board?
My journey to the AMSN Board of Directors started at the local level with my state chapter. Being involved in a local chapter helped give me perspective on the needs of my specialty on a more personal level and learn how difficult it can be to increase your footprint with engagement if you don’t have a clear sense of direction and identity. Service to the profession is service to one’s self. What recharged my battery in my AMSN chapter recharged my battery in my professional practice at work.
I have a passion for helping others find their passion, which fueled me to get more involved the larger AMSN with different initiatives and attending convention. At a convention in 2019, I had the pleasure of meeting our current president-elect, the transformational Kristi Reguin-Hartman, at a membership breakfast. One meaningful conversation later, I was vested in making sure AMSN would always be part of my professional life. I share that because it just takes one individual to make an impact. Not everyone has the privilege and pleasure to be in a boardroom, but everyone has a responsibility to create a positive impact for someone who can. We all have a legacy roadmap of people who helped us get in the room, and I am humbled at the opportunity to integrate the voices of those who have shaped me into my own voice as I look to empower others to do the same.
What are your goals as a member of the AMSN Board of Directors?
As a member of the AMSN Board of Directors, my guiding principle has always been advancing the profession of medical-surgical nursing across the healthcare landscape. My primary goals are to help cultivate a community of belonging and curate resources that help our members be more successful in how and where they practice. A huge portion of that is building up an excited, engaged, and empowered coalition of medical-surgical nurses at the local level with their pulse on practice to help drive that meaningful change! I have a voice, a platform, and a responsibility to actively listen to the needs of the membership and help drive strategic change to advance our medical-surgical community!
What are you most excited about at AMSN and in the field of medical-surgical nursing?
It is really hard to pick just one thing to be excited about when it comes AMSN and our specialty of medical-surgical nursing! One thing that has particularly filled my bucket over the past few years is people evaluating their why. Our why not only brings us to the table but keeps us there. It’s the difference between just being “here” and actually being present for those around us.
What has me most excited is the strategic planning being done, focusing on strengthening our identity and developing content on dynamic platforms. There is such a wealth of talent within our own AMSN community, and I am so energized that our membership will have an even stronger hand with shaping best practice for the nursing profession through our medical-surgical voices! You should definitely check out the Medical-Surgical Monitor to be part of the conversation!
What is one contribution you’ve made to medical-surgical nursing, big or small, that you are most proud of?
One contribution that I am particularly proud of is the hard work my PRISM Committee leaders and I did revising the updated PRISM Award application. PRISM is more than just recognizing the value and contributions of nursing units to providing exemplary care and service to the specialty of medical-surgical nursing. It is about celebrating a sense of identity among our community in the evolving healthcare landscape and raising the standards of excellence so we can deliver safe, equitable care in a healthy work environment. As proud as I am of our team, I am even more proud of the countless number of nurses and partners in practice who dedicate their time, talent, and treasure to strive to achieve PRISM! Visit the PRISM Award to learn more!
What is something you’d like members to know about you that they might not already know?
I have a ton of favorite quotes, but one that is most meaningful to me is “Creativity takes courage” by Henri Matisse. There is a sense of courage in having curiosity about the world around you and the willingness to investigate things that take us out of our comfort zones. Evolution is natural, and our profession’s consistent adaptability is what has led to some of the most amazing advancements in nursing that we have seen over the years! That being said, nursing does not have all the answers in life, and working in a silo can stifle innovation.
One thing that brings me joy is looking at the intersectionality of how our work relates to adjacent lanes and translating them into our practice. Industry drives innovation, theatre drives empathy and evolved self-awareness, retail drives consumer experience … you are only limited by your imagination! Exploring the relationship between our work and the work around us can help us form better partnerships to advance the profession of nursing!