Board of Directors Spotlight: Kristi Reguin-Hartman
Welcome to the Board of Directors Spotlight Series. Get to know Dr. Kristi Reguin-Hartman, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, as she begins her term as AMSN President! Read on to learn more about the clinical transformation manager for Philips Healthcare and clinical instructor for East Carolina University, and find out more about her goals as president, her passion for the medical-surgical specialty, and why you should say “yes” to volunteer and leadership opportunities.
What does medical-surgical nursing mean to you?
Medical-surgical nursing is the largest nursing specialty. Medical-surgical nursing consists of caring for patients who have primary needs related to surgery or a medical diagnosis. This is the most widely utilized nursing specialty; in fact, it is so broad scoping that it is the primary specialty taught fully in nursing programs.
What is the value of volunteer leadership?
Recently, I have had the opportunity to present on influence and advocacy. Volunteering for professional organizations is one of the easier ways to start an advocacy journey. It is also a great way to expand skills and competencies that can carry back to new opportunities in paid work. Volunteering for AMSN has expanded my network of colleagues and cemented lifelong friendships.
What’s on your mind this month?
In the cold, dark days of winter, I like to focus on connecting with my favorite friends and colleagues. From a networking perspective, my career path and volunteering for AMSN has allowed me to build relationships with extraordinary nurses from all over the country. This season is about rest and reflection, and I am always refueled by fantastic conversations with my friends in nursing.
Hotly debated topics of the last few weeks include the concept of professionalism in nursing, where in the care processes nurses should have to be aware of hospital finances, reimbursement strategies for nursing, if nursing is a calling or not, and the role of the LPN in professional organizations. (Spoiler on this last one: AMSN offers membership to all LPNs and LVNs.) These conversations expand my way of thinking and how I approach my advocacy strategies for nursing.
How did you get started with AMSN? What was your journey to the AMSN Board of Directors, and why did you decide to join the board?
I spent a lot of time wondering what you might be interested in learning about me as your next AMSN President, and the first thing I thought of is — how the heck did I end up here! It’s a great question, and I always wonder about the paths of leaders, so let me share my AMSN path with you.
In 2012, I was studying to complete an MSN as a clinical nurse specialist, and I had one clinical preceptor: a fabulous nurse in the Duke Health hospital system in North Carolina named Kathy Chilluli. Kathy said that if I was going to spend time learning from her, I had to join AMSN. So I said yes! And I joined.
A short while later, I saw an email that said AMSN was looking for volunteers to help design an award to recognize exemplary medical-surgical units; and I said yes, and I signed up as fast as I could. Today, this award is known as the AMSN PRISM Award, and there more than 100 PRISM recognized units internationally today.
While volunteering on the PRISM Task Force, I met my next mentor, Dr. Summer Bryant. After working on the PRISM Award, Summer said, “Hey, I think you would be good chairing the 5th Edition of Scope and Standards.” I thought, well that is something I haven’t done before, and I said yes!
And later, there was an open seat on the board of directors, and Summer said, “Hey, you should apply for that!” And again, I said yes! And then last year I was honored to be submitted by the AMSN Nomination Committee as the candidate for president-elect, leading me to my president term through 2025 and 2026. My journey was filled with risks and uncertainty from saying yes to things I had not done before, but each one led me to a new opportunity. If you have an opportunity, say yes!
What are your goals as AMSN President?
My goals for my term as president include improving the member and member volunteer experience and to ensure that the organization is providing useful and quality education, advocacy, and growth opportunities. Currently, the AMSN Board of Directors reflects the most diverse set of nurses in its history. That is the result of nominations committees and leaders before me who have changed bylaws and rules to offer more opportunity for nurses of all types of medical-surgical experience.
Evidence supports that more diverse leadership teams have better financial and performance outcomes compared to homogenous ones, and AMSN is stronger when the lived experiences of a diverse group of nurses are influencing and guiding the organization. I want all members and volunteers to feel comfortable sharing their experiences and ideas on how to grow and advance initiatives for medical-surgical nurses and keep AMSN relevant to the clinical nurse, nurse educator, and nurse leaders working in our specialty.
What are you most excited about at AMSN and in the field of medical-surgical nursing?
In the next two years, there are many exciting things coming up for AMSN! We will be launching a new scientific journal focusing on advancing the specialty of medical-surgical nurses, an online community for more opportunities to engage with each other in an asynchronous environment, and will have a new position statement on safe staffing. AMSN will have a new set of webinars that are free to members, additional podcasts with our engaging podcast hosts, and a relaunch of the competency self-assessment program. Additionally, I can’t wait to celebrate more medical-surgical nurses by recognizing new PRISM Award units, new Kathleen Singleton Award organizations, new AMSN Fellows, and a new award partnership coming soon as well. Stay tuned!
What is one contribution you’ve made to medical-surgical nursing, big or small, that you are most proud of?
Most proud is a tough question, but I will answer this in the terms of very proud. I used both my MSN and DNP program projects to focus on a Nurse Workload Tool specific to medical-surgical nurses, and AMSN members contributed to that work. There is a lot of conversation around nurse workload, staffing ratios, and patient acuity and how we balance those things to create safe and appropriate work environments for nurses and patients. This conversation will continue, and AMSN will be issuing content on this later this year.
Secondly, I am most awed when I talk to someone who says they became involved in an organization, committee, or went back to school because they saw me do it. My path here at AMSN was created because I kept saying yes to things that I had not done before, and hearing that those decisions have influenced someone else to do something new continues to be surprising, overwhelming, humbling, and a source of pride.
What is something you’d like members to know about you that they might not already know?
One thing you may not know about me is that I started my nursing career as an ADN graduate from Nassau Community College in Long Island, New York. Volunteering for AMSN has exposed me to nursing practices across the county globally and influenced my education and career. Lastly, you can email me any time at President@AMSN.org or reach out on LinkedIn! Let’s connect!