Chicago Nursing Today

Lydia Alicea, RN

Chicago Nursing Today’s next Specialty Spotlight series is focusing on Nurse Management. We’ll be spotlighting nurse managers from different units and organizations to find out the ups and downs of nurse management and find out what it takes to be a great nurse manager.

First up: Lydia Alicea, RN, the clinical nurse manager at Seton Family Health Center, part of Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago.

When Lydia Alicea, RN, first started out in nursing school she was surprised to learn that nursing was about so much more than just taking blood pressure and giving injections. “It was 180 degrees from what I thought I nursing really was,” remembers Alicea. “I was really excited about the depths of nursing and how much more there was to nursing.”

After graduating from nursing school in 1994, Alicea spent time working on a medical-surgical unit, in same-day surgery and did some agency nursing before accepting a supervisory nursing position at a clinic in California where she lived at the time. “I was hired without any supervisory experience, but the medical director and the director of human resources made it their mission to train me,” says Alicea. “That is where I found my passion in nursing.”

Working in a clinic allowed Alicea to get to know patients on a deeper level, and she enjoyed being involved in every aspect of patients’ care. “We could be a part of their lives and see the results of the care we gave,” says Alicea. “In the clinic setting we see patients and intervene. “

After moving back to Chicago with her family, Alicea continued her passion for clinic nursing as the clinical supervisor at Seton Family Health Center, which is part of Saint Joseph Hospital. She has been at the clinic for eight and a half years and has spent the last four years as the clinical nurse manager.

As the clinical nurse manager for the Seton Family Health Center, Alicea is part of Saint Joseph’s nursing leadership committee and the Magnet steering committee. She prides herself on building up her team to work with shared governance and empowering her staff with autonomy to carry out their duties and deliver excellent patient care.

One of her goals as a nurse leader is to assure her staff that she is there to help them through any challenges. “I have the option of wearing regular clothes or scrubs, and 75 percent of the time I wear scrubs so my team knows that I am available,” she says.

As a manager, Alicea encourages other nurses to be the best that they can be. “Nursing has a reputation for eating its young, but that does not happen here,” she says. “We are education oriented and everyone is open to teaching and learning. My management style is to get in there and see what’s going on.”

In fact, diving right in and solving any issues that arise is one of Alicea’s favorite parts of nurse management. “I like being part of working it out; that process is really exciting,” she says.

To do this, Alicea notes that it is quite helpful to know all aspects of nursing before taking on a management role. “The most important thing is to actually get into the trenches first and have experience as a staff nurse before going into management,” she notes. “If you do that, your staff knows you are able to do their job. They respect that and you respect them. If you have that mutual respect you develop a strong team.”