The Frontline Are Your Advocates with Charlene Platon
The Frontline Are Your Advocates with Charlene Platon
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Today on the podcast we’re joined by Charlene Platon. Charlene is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with a Master of Science in Nursing Science from the University of California, Irvine. In 2016 she joined Stanford Health Care (SHC) as a Manager of Advanced Practice with a primary role of leading process and quality improvement initiatives to optimize practice for advanced practice providers (APPs). Her recent work has focused on building SHC’s first-ever APP Administrative Fellowship to mentor expert clinicians as future healthcare leaders. Passionate about healthcare technology, Charlene’s other projects include developing electronic medical record workflows to accurately measure APP contributions. Charlene supports inpatient APPs practicing in surgical areas, including reconstructive and orthopedic surgeries. As a manager, Charlene’s main objective is to improve the work environment for APPs and increase provider engagement.
Charlene’s inspiration for quality improvement and innovation stems from her experiences in both acute care and ambulatory settings. Serving as a Registered Nurse at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles, she spearheaded the Admission/S.W.A.T. Nurse pilot program to improve patient throughput and increase nursing support during patient transitions. Charlene previously worked as a Medical Coordinator for the Illumination Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting homeless individuals in need of medical and social services. There, she first learned about the complexities of healthcare and the vast opportunities for improvement.
Charlene’s overarching goal as a healthcare leader and nurse innovator is to discover new and patient-centered solutions that improve care delivery and operations. She is passionate about utilizing innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration to address organizational difficulties and transform healthcare.
Episode Highlights
We start by talking about her Johnson and Johnson fellowship and go on to discuss:
A nurse hackathon to tackle human health problems
Advice for nurses looking to get into leadership
Using LinkedIn for professional development
The “not just a nurse” mentality
Incentivizing a culture of innovation
How to encourage nurses to stay in the sector
Key 3 Points
The frontline need to be your biggest advocate
Carve out and be proud of your career path
Stay curious, growing and evolving