Jessica Reeves '17MSN is a Nurse Practitioner who is as interested in the well being of her fellow providers as that of her patients. While working in extremely fast-paced and often understaffed reproductive health and family medicine clinics, she learned what to do (and more importantly, what not to do) to get out of the clinic every day by 5PM with all of her charts closed - while always running on time. She's not called The World's Most Productive Nurse Practitioner for nothing.
We sat down with Reeves to learn her secrets for effective time management.
Tell us about your book, Secrets From The World's Most Productive Nurse Practitioner.
I'm a little obsessed with time management and efficiency! I have always had good feedback in this regard as a Nurse Practitioner; in fact, one of my proudest accomplishments as an NP is four consecutive quarters of leaving the clinic by 5PM with 97-100% of my charts closed the same day. I think I took a lot of my skills for granted until I saw some of my colleagues struggling, staying at work several hours later than me to finish their charting and other tasks.
The book covers things like how to get out of the clinic on time on a regular basis, charting shortcuts and efficiencies, how to have your schedule structured so that your time is managed effectively. I also have a section with questions that should be asked in an interview and before accepting a job offer in order to make sure that a prospective workplace views (and values) time the same way that you do. When this isn't a good match, it can lead to job dissatisfaction, burnout, or Nurse Practitioners considering leaving the NP profession. We've all worked too hard to get to this point in our career to have something like this stand in the way.
Tell us about the writing process.
I am a very verbal person and kind of chatty, so writing was not a huge leap for me. I thought I might have enough material for an article on time management, but once I sat down and started putting my thoughts together, I realized I had a lot to say on the subject. The writing piece came together relatively quickly, maybe a month; the editing process took longer, maybe two months. I decided to self-publish so that I could have as much control over the process as possible - and that was probably the easiest part of the whole project.
What inspired you to pursue a career in nursing?
I wanted to help people, and I love that there is always something new to learn in nursing. I also love how diverse nursing is; it can mean a LOT of different things to say "I am a nurse."
What inspired you to make the jump from Nurse Practitioner to author?
I decided to open my own private practice in 2021, and it's always slow in the first year of any new business - so I found myself with time on my hands. I also have a strong need to keep busy and to feel like I'm doing something productive, so writing was a good fit. Once I got started, I realized I had a lot more to say about not just the material covered in this book, but some other material for other upcoming books.
I wanted to help people, and I love that there is always something new to learn in nursing. I also love how diverse nursing is; it can mean a LOT of different things to say "I am a nurse."
What do you find most rewarding about your career?
Helping people to understand. That used to primarily mean helping patients understand things, but now it extends to helping my fellow clinicians understand how to enjoy their work life more.
How did Simmons help prepare you for what you're doing now?
Simmons gave me a GREAT clinical foundation - there is a saying, "Simmons prepares you well," and it's definitely true. I felt confident going into practice (and also confident in asking for help when I needed it), and because I wasn't scrambling as a new grad, I think I was able to absorb more and get more out of those first years of practice, and eventually opening my own practice.
Do you have a faculty member who inspired you at Simmons?
Rosella Micalizzi was my Clinical Decision Making professor, and she was great. That class was also great because it really built that habit of reflecting on what happened that week in clinic and learning from it (both my own experiences and those of my classmates). In fact, I'd like to write a book on the value of having a reflective practice in the future.