1. 18
JULY/AUGUST2014
My very first boss boasted, while dictating a let­
ter, that he saw no need to learn how to use
a personal computer. That was the early­
1990s when it was standard practice to review business
metrics on scrolls of dot matrix printer paper and
employ a secretary to type—and then mail—your com­
munications. In his mind, computers were nothing more
than fancy, expensive typewriters.
We were on the cusp of the information age and this
otherwise­competent executive didn’t see beyond the
day­to­day when it came to technology. Knowing how
things turned out, this example drives home the impor­
tance of preparing yourself for the future of your indus­
try, continually learning new things and staying open to
new possibilities—for actively engaging in such lifelong
learning not only helps you “get ready” for the future,
it also enables you to help creatively invent your future.
T h e V a l u e o f L i f e l o n g
L e a r n i n g
Today, learning and intellectual enrichment are touted
as tools for everything from avoiding cognitive decline
in old age to effectively competing in business. Indeed,
broadening your knowledge, honing your core compe­
tencies, and developing new skills are all essential for
staying on top of your professional game. “Professional
development is a process that is never ending,”
observes Kathy Puglise, M.S.N./E.D., B.S.N., R.N.,
CRNI®, Vice President of Infusion Nursing at BioScrip.
“Health care is forever changing. Therefore, clinicians
should be prepared for lifelong learning that allows
them to develop, maintain, and expand competency in
order to provide safe, effective care.”
“The complexity of care is increasing; technology is
changing—you need to update your skills and under­
stand the changes,” adds Maryjoan D. Ladden, Ph.D.,
R.N., FAAN, a Senior Program Officer and nurse practi­
tioner at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
According to Ladden, regardless of the type or size
company one works for, clinicians who strive to be the
best they can be and deliver exceptional care “see con­
tinuous lifelong learning as a responsibility and an
opportunity, not a burden.”
“Nothing replaces the need for frontline practitioners
who know what they are doing. In a small shop or a The Value of
Professional
Development
Comprehending the Strategic Val
—Pursuing Lifelong Learning is of Benefit
By Jeannie Counce

2. JULY/AUGUST2014
19
large company, patient care happens at the local level,
so the frontline needs to be prepared,” explains recent­
ly retired Caryn Bing, M.S., R.Ph., FASHP.
Preparedness is critical to the non­clinical team on the
frontlines as well. “From a human resources stand­
point, we want our clinical folks to keep up because
they directly impact patient care,” observes Chris
Jones, Chief Sales Officer and Senior Vice President of
Paragon Healthcare, Inc. “But we also support learning
for others, especially reimbursement people, for exam­
ple, because things change so quickly in that area.”
There are many business functions involved in provid­
ing quality health care services or products, each with
its own evolving knowledge base and skill set. Having
highly developed professionals collaborating across
many roles fortifies an organization, making it stronger
than the sum of its parts. “I believe that having a work­
force that strives for excellence provides excellence,”
observes Puglise. “Good, happy, solid employees are
what make a service organization successful.”
A S h a r e d C o m m i t m e n t —
A n d R e s p o n s i b i l i t y
At some point, everyone who is serious about their
vocation should understand the value of professional
growth, which includes more than simply attending
mandatory in­service trainings and meeting licensure
requirements. “I believe that anyone who is serious
about building a career should continuously invest in his
or her professional development,” asserts Jim Glynn,
President of Amerita. The onus is on the individual to
proactively embrace learning and growth, adds Bing,
making the case for personal responsibility. “It’s a pro­
fession, not a job and you need to be a professional, not
just an employee.”
“It’s critical in your career progression to build your
skill set and network,” observes Todd Youse, Director
of Recruiting and Client Services at The Remedy Group,
a health care search firm in Portland, Oregon. “Hiring
organizations, especially in a niche market like home
infusion, want relevant experience.”
As Vice President of Corporate Development for an
independent infusion provider in Oklahoma City, Matt
Wills of OptionOne Infusion agrees, noting that his
team members wear many different hats. “We strive to
GROW
ue of Professional Development
to Both Employees and their Organizations

3. 20
JULY/AUGUST2014
have educated people who are able to
make decisions with the confidence
to act on them,” he says, explain­
ing that highly developed profes­
sionals are autonomous and
don’t take up much “band­
width” on oversight. “We
expect them to take initiative
in their roles and also in their
own professional develop­
ment,” says Wills.
Professionals who demon­
strate a commitment to lifelong
learning excel. “Lifelong learners
love what they do, they want to get
better at it, and they share it with
other people,” says Bing. “As you
provide care everyday, you see issues
you need to know more about. It’s
the ability to recognize that and
know where to go and find the infor­
mation that’s lifelong learning,” adds Ladden.
And while a strong motivation for learning must
genuinely reside within each individual, the organiza­
tion he or she works for also plays an equally significant
and required role in supporting professional growth.
“Employers should provide an environment where pro­
fessional development is valued and supported,” says
Bing. “Companies that want to attract and retain
career­minded people need to find ways to enable that
development,” agrees Glynn, who likes to see contin­
ued education to advance degrees or certificates in spe­
cialized areas of interest.
“Education provides skill enhancement that affects
an employee’s future at many different levels,”
observes Puglise. However, she points out, that
enhancement also dramatically betters an organization,
beginning with patient outcomes. When clinicians are
exposed to a variety of different approaches they are
better able to provide quality care, explains Ladden.
“Their organization benefits, too, because the employ­
ee is developing skills and bringing in new perspectives
and evidence.”
Employees want support for professional develop­
ment, according to Youse. “It’s easier for me to interest
them in leaving their employer when they aren’t getting
it,” he explains. “On the other hand, companies that
invest in growth, employ the people who don’t want to
leave. I have found that to be true across disciplines and
across sectors.” Youse believes
employer support not only lowers
turnover, but also increases job
satisfaction and adds to the
body of knowledge of the
organization—thereby
strengthening the company,
itself, in the process.
Jones has seen these
principles in action. “We
invest heavily in our
business—from pro­
viding the most current
technology to a robust bene­
fits package and professional
development opportunities,” he
explains. The result, he asserts,
is lower staff turnover, as
well as educated employ­
ees who bring more to
their jobs. “Our current employees enable the
company to grow as we build platforms into
new markets, and they bring ideas that go into
strategic planning—they are our most important
asset,” he says.
Regardless of a company’s size, it is crucial that
employer support for lifelong learning among its
staff be tangibly available. Such support can come in
many forms—but irrespective of how it takes
shape, it should begin as part of the annual perfor­
mance review process, according to Bing. “The
employee’s evaluation should include goals for pro­
fessional development and how the organization
can support those goals,” she explains. This doesn’t
mean the employer has to foot the entire bill, she
adds. “Maybe they offer paid leave to attend a con­
ference or sit for a test, and reimburse a portion of
the registration fee. There may not be a financial
incentive, like an automatic raise, however growth
could mean a new job opportunity, time to con­
tribute to an outside organization, or even better
shifts,” says Bing.
“Companies that value professional development
help their employees pursue their goals,” continues
Bing, noting that many of the activities listed on her
CV did not always take place on company time, but
were backed by her employers. “There should be a
career ladder, something that adds value and recog­
nizes accomplishments.”

4. JULY/AUGUST2014
21
I s Y o u r C o m p a n y A
L e a r n i n g O r g a n i z a t i o n ?
The companies that empower their teams to participate
in professional development activities can be divided
into two camps, according to Youse. “Some are more
rigid and reactive, only making the outlay when their
hand is forced—when someone quits and they need a
replacement or they want to start a new program and
need to get up to speed,” he explains.
Others are proactive and invest on the “what if,” he
continues. “These organizations realize that new ideas
come from employees engaging in education and net­
working. They have an open door mentality; they are
looking for ways to be better and more efficient; they
are forward­minded and want to improve things before
they need to,” Youse explains, noting that in his experi­
ence, these companies also hire for the future.
“We are quick to support learning opportunities that
our employees bring to us,” confirms OptionOne
Infusion’s Wills. “We want them to pursue their inter­
ests and fully expect them to take initiative to collabo­
rate in learning.” It’s an easy decision, says Wills, espe­
cially when it comes to certain clinical designations that
can offer a market advantage.
The payoffs that come with expertise extend to
the business side of health care
delivery, as well. “Our com­
petitive edge is our col­
laborative problem
solving ability,” contin­
ues Wills. “We are able
to quickly lay out the
parameters of an issue
and can get informed
feedback from a group that
is up to speed.” Wills explains
that his team members
know that if they bring up a
problem, they need also to
present alternatives and be an
active part of the solution. “The
process moves quickly and is more efficient because
everyone is on top of their game.”
This is what happens in learning organizations, those
that facilitate the learning of their members and contin­
ually transform. First described in the bestselling book,
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge, “learning organiza­
tions” rely on interconnected thinking by a community
of people who are working towards personal mastery.
Senge pointed out that even individualized professional
development can have collaborative and teambuilding
effects within an organization. Thus, a company that
intentionally fosters the learning and collaboration of
its employees also simultaneously fosters the growth
and innovation of the company itself—and, in the
process, creates an impactful advantage for both staff
and the organization.
“When you support an employee to go out and seek
knowledge and growth, he or she comes back with
interest, excitement, new ideas, and evidence,”
observes Ladden of the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. “They are more satisfied and more likely to
develop others that work on their team. It’s like paying
it forward—you’re not just developing one person.”
Knowledge sharing plays a major role in the learning
The Value of
Professional
Development
Lifelong learners love what they do, they want to get
better at it, and they share it with other people.
—Caryn Bing

5. 22
JULY/AUGUST2014
organization, and shrewd managers can put these prin­
ciples to work. Amerita, for example, built a “resident
expert” panel within the company. “These are subject
matter experts who share their knowledge with anyone
in the company with questions,” explains Glynn, who
encourages other forms of knowledge sharing.
Glynn once had a top performing sales representative
ask the company to send her to a national conference
on autoimmune diseases. “She wanted to advance her
knowledge in the field so she could better communi­
cate with her physician referral sources,” he explains.
“We paid for her attendance and travel with the
understanding that she was to put together a webi­
nar presentation for the entire company to discuss
what she learned at the conference. It was
valuable to her—and extremely valuable for
the company.”
Another time, Glynn challenged an
“extremely knowledgeable and commit­
ted pharmacy manager,” who is the
company’s expert in inotropic therapy,
to submit a poster abstract to NHIA. “I
agreed to send her to the NHIA Annual
Conference if her paper was accepted,”
Glynn recalls. “It was.” (Editor’s Note: Not
only was “Clinical Outcomes of Home
Inotropic Therapy: A Four­Year Retrospective”
accepted, it won first prize for “Best Poster” in
the 2014 NHIA Annual Conference & Exposition’s Idea
Exchange.)
“I absolutely expect knowledge sharing,” adds
Bioscrip’s Puglise. “We succeed not alone, but as a
team.” She explains that knowledge sharing can be
accomplished through something as simple as a
daily briefing of the current patient census.
“Anything that allows for conversation and team­
work.”
With knowledge comes new ways of seeing things
and, eventually, innovation. “We value a fresh perspec­
tive,” says Wills. “Experience is great, but you don’t
want to settle into the same way of doing things. We
have a culture of respect for new ideas.”
Naturally, there can be drawbacks to investing in
employee development. “Sometimes you may see
your investment leave your organization to seek
opportunities elsewhere, but that’s a risk worth tak­
ing,” suggests Glynn.
“We’re in a competitive industry in terms of recruiting
and staffing and you have to be aware that developing
great people causes them to be noticed,” adds Wills.
“The rewards outweigh the risks, however,” he says.
“There’s no substitute for
having the right people in the right
position, feeling trusted and able to do
their jobs.”
That’s where organizational culture comes in.
Providing an environment where team members feel
valued is key. “Professional development is all part of a
culture, not a corporate edict,” reminds Bing.
Organizations should take additional steps to foster a
culture that “makes people feel at home and want to
stay,” as Wills puts it.
Ladden suggests that in addition to employees being
evaluated for their pursuit of professional development
goals, managers should also be evaluated for the their
commitment to employees’ success. “Are they encour­
aging lifelong learning and professional development?
You can give tuition reimbursement and time off, but if
GROW
Companies that want to attract and retain career-minded
people need to find ways to enable that development.
—Jim Glynn

6. 24
JULY/AUGUST2014
lifelong learning isn’t part of the culture and part of the
reward system, it doesn’t happen,” she points out. It is
a reciprocal endeavor.
L o o k i n g B e y o n d t h e D a y -
t o - D a y
A substantial step in professional development is rec­
ognizing that you must look beyond what’s happening
in your own sphere. “If you look narrowly at your job
responsibilities; you know and follow the company
policies and procedures; you attend internal trainings,
and so on, then you only know that topic from the per­
spective of the organization,” observes Bing. “But
obtaining information from outside the company
broadens your perspective and experience,” she
explains.
“That’s why continuing education (CE) is a require­
ment you should take seriously, not just do the easiest,
fastest thing that will get you the credits,” says Bing.
CE and practice are inextricably intertwined, adds
Ladden. “Don’t think about it as getting your hours for
licensure, think about it as seeking knowledge about
things that will come up.”
Meeting licensure requirements is the bare minimum,
according to Puglise. “If we are to continue to grow and
develop as clinicians, we must open the doors to edu­
cational opportunities such as advanced degrees, certi­
fication, and attendance at organizational meetings
such as NHIA,” she asserts. Puglise reports that she
looks closely at certifications, advanced degrees, and
membership in professional organizations when hiring.
“A big deal breaker for me is if someone tells me they
are ‘too busy’ to participate in additional learning.” It’s
never been easier, she points out, noting the preva­
lence of online learning and web­based presentations.
Participation in organizational and industry­wide
activities, such as developing standards and prac­
tices, serving on a committee, publishing papers, and
lecturing, is equally important,
according to Bing. “These are
excellent experiences where
you can learn by doing,
and contribute to the
betterment of the
organization or your
industry,” she
explains. “The only
thing better than a
committee with all
the answers is a
committee that
knows where the
problems are and
can ask the right
questions. In that
process, everyone
learns and brings
something back to
themselves and their organi­
zation.”
Professional societies and trade groups play a key
role, says Ladden, who served as Interim Chief
Programs Officer of the American Nurses Association
(ANA). “In addition to teaching needed skills, they are
incredibly important in cultivating those professionals
who have the mindset of lifelong learning and see the
value of networking and collaboration.”
Ladden emphasizes that networking and collabora­
tion will become more and more critical—for both the
employee and the employer—as health care delivery
shifts toward managing patients across the continuum.
“Care will be even more team based,” she predicts.
“You’ll need to know what other people do, what they
can do, and how you can work together to best cover
the patient’s needs.”
There’s a value to showing your team the big picture,
according to Paragon’s Jones, and industry events like
Organizations need to provide the tools to assist
professionals wanting to expand their knowledge and
to mentor individuals for succession planning.
—Kathy Puglise

7. the NHIA Annual Conference & Exposition are a useful
venue for achieving that goal. “CE can be earned any­
where, but NHIA’s conference is key to the environ­
ment we’re trying to cultivate,” he explains. “It con­
nects people to others in the company in a way that
doesn’t happen in the office.” The bonding and cohe­
sion create a unified force, according to Jones. “There’s
a certain camaraderie that comes from key thought
leaders being together—they come back knowing
there’s a goal at hand and everyone’s job is to comple­
ment that vision.”
“It’s a team effort to run an organization and
the association assists in many different learning
opportunities—for the non­clinical members of
the collaborative team, too,” adds Puglise.
“Another advantage is that NHIA works close­
ly with other specialty organizations, such as
the Infusion Nurses Society and American
Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.”
Working together across an organization and
even across disciplines is the future of health
care. “We need to collaborate to change,”
observes Bing, noting shared challenges, such as
regulatory standards and reimbursement, in addition to
the dizzying pace of clinical advances.
C u l t i v a t i n g L e a d e r s h i p
Developing thought leaders is vital to an organization’s
success and to the future of the profession, says Jones.
That can only happen through exposure to a variety of
topics. “We want our team to be versed in everything—
Medicare coverage, reimbursement trends, hospital­
based ACOs, you name it,” he says.
“Companies should have an interest in their profession­
als exploring non­clinical topics such as reimbursement
policy, the business process of health care, and sales and
management aspects of doing business,” adds Bing.
“They need to develop clinicians into leaders so they are
better equipped to step in when opportunities arise.”
While today’s clinical education focuses on tech­
niques, evidence and practice, it often doesn’t help
build the leadership piece,” adds Ladden. “A lot of good
clinicians get tapped to move up the ladder because
they are good clinicians, but they don’t have adminis­
trative and managerial training,” she observes.
25
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8. “Organizations need to provide the tools to assist
professionals wanting to expand their knowledge and
to mentor individuals for succession planning,” contin­
ues Puglise. “We must never stop learning and we all
must continue to set the standards for infusion in every
health care setting.”
“Who’s going to lead this profession? Where are the
leaders coming from?” asks Bing. “There will always be
those people who just meet the minimum requirements
to stay current and who stay under the radar. But they
are not leaders. They are not the people we look to for
ideas when we’re trying to make things better.” Those
professionals are cultivated over time, through both a
personal drive for lifelong learning and via company cul­
tures that help to proactively invest and facilitate such
education—and the rewards from those shared efforts
are far reaching, not only for the individual and their
organization, but for the industry as a whole.
Jeannie Counce is the Editor-in-Chief of INFUSION—she can
be reached at: 406-522-7222 or JeannieCounce@NHIA.org
The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) has a vital position available at its
Alexandria, Virginia office for a Director of Clinical Affairs. This position will work in tandem
with the Vice President of Clinical Affairs to incorporate his/her clinical knowledge and
experience to support the Association’s members and staff to further key NHIA
programs/initiatives, including:
• Planning, development and implementation of educational content offered at the NHIA
Annual Conference, via web-based teleconferences, and as enduring continuing
education programs.
• Writing and editorial support of INFUSION Magazine and the NHIA Home Infusion
Therapy Module Program.
• Writing and procuring of grant-based funding in support of educational and research initiatives.
• Advancing of the NHIA Industry-Wide Data Initiative.
• Participating in all clinically-related activities within NHIA, offering critical knowledge,
support and leadership to various NHIA programs, initiatives and strategies.
If you have a minimum of seven years of clinical nursing or pharmacy related experience
and are interested in helping to transform the future of our field, please consider submitting
your resume and salary requirements to NHIA via: hr@nhia.org
NHIA SEEKS DIRECTOR of CLINICAL AFFAIRS
When you support an employee to go out and seek
knowledge and growth, he or she comes back with
interest, excitement, new ideas, and evidence. They are
more satisfied and more likely to develop others that
work on their team. It’s like paying it forward—you’re
not just developing one person.
—Maryjoan Ladden