Dr. Julie Donley: Healthcare Workers Making a Difference

Michelle Tennant Nicholson
7 min readDec 28, 2021

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In my series, “Dare to Care,” I interview Dr. Julie Donley who believes in helping healthcare workers thrive and bringing out the best in them. I hope you enjoy the Q&A as much as I did. ~ Michelle Tennant Nicholson

Thank you so much for your time! I know you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what early experiences brought you to choosing a career in the medical profession?

After completing my first undergraduate degree in business administration and feeling very ill-prepared for a career, I decided to go to nursing school. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and had a passion for bringing out the best in others. A friend persuaded me to apply for a position at an acute care psychiatric facility where an adolescent unit was opening. I was hired and fell in love with the work! I loved working with adolescents and making a difference in their lives. Through the years, I have worked with different populations and moved into administration. I am very grateful for my career in nursing.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you in your career as a doctor?

Having served as a psych nurse and an executive nurse in behavioral health, I have seen a lot and have a lot of stories about patients and staff — sad stories as well as triumphant.

I believe the best story is how I have evolved as a human being and how my roles in healthcare have enabled me to live my best life being of service to others.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting out on your career? What lesson did you learn from that?

You are going to make mistakes. No one prepares you for it, though. I was a nurse only a few months when I accidentally gave the wrong medication to a psychotic young male patient. I made the classic mistake of telling this man his name (as he was smiling and listening to the voice in his head), instead of asking him for his name. Although the Attending Physician stated that he was glad to order and begin this patient on Risperdal since it would be helpful for him, I was devastated at having made the mistake! One of the more experienced nurses calmed me down. That kindness impacted me, and over the years, I have helped many others through the emotional journey from their mistakes, especially as a leader where I was able to provide compassion and support to manage the initial response and review the cause. We are such perfectionists and want so much to help — not harm — that even the slightest error can send us into a tailspin. But we are human, and all we can do is our best. It’s hard to see that in the moment though! We need self-compassion while assuming responsibility and seeking to understand the reason the mistake occurred. A just culture is necessary to have a safe space to talk about it, review it, and be supported.

To #DareToCare means to survive and thrive in today’s medical world. How do you take care of yourself? What’s the routine you must do to thrive every day?

It’s been important for me to practice mindfulness, to be present in the moment. Each morning, I make a list of 3–5 priorities to accomplish for the day. For several years now, I have been working on slowing down, doing less, and putting less pressure on myself to take on projects. (Yes, it has taken me that long and I am still a work-in-progress!) I am a high-achiever, and that achievement mentality keeps me on the go — it helps me get things done — but it does not allow me to relax, enjoy the moment, and be fully present. I take brisk walks daily and lift weights a couple times a week which keeps my mind clear and my stress levels down. I have shifted my achievement orientation to focus on my relationships. Perhaps that focus naturally shifts as we get older as we realize that what is most important in life is the experiences we have and the love we share. I also make sure to have something to look forward to in the evening and on weekends that is not work-related and maintain good boundaries with my down time. I started riding a motorcycle and that has been wonderful.

My client, Dr. Jan Bonhoeffer, writes a series of letters to his God-daughter in his latest book, “Dare To Care: How to Survive and Thrive in Today’s Medical World.” In that same vein, what are 5 things you would tell your younger self?

1) Don’t take yourself/things too seriously. What seems so important is often not important in the scheme of things. Take a 50-foot view to maintain proper perspective.

2) Care for your health — mind, body, spirit. As a healthcare professional, it is easy to pour yourself into the work of caring for others; but you can only give what you have. You must fill your cup each day with whatever keeps you grounded and fulfilled so you can be at your best. If you need help, get it. Make the time for exercise and meditation each day. Check in on your habits; they run your life so be open to change them if they no longer serve you. Treat yourself with respect and lovingkindness.

3) People and relationships matter more than being right. Don’t be so attached to your ideas. There is a difference between being right and needing to be right. Remain mindful, open to new perspectives, and be curious about the other’s ideas.

4) If you love yourself, respect yourself, and have compassion for yourself, it is easier to love, respect, and have compassion for others. To the extent that you are disrespectful and hurtful to yourself, it is easier to be disrespectful and hurtful to others. And when you find yourself being disrespectful, judgmental, and hurtful, look inside yourself for healing and compassion.

5) No one can hurt you without your permission. Those emotional triggers and buttons that set you off — they are yours and are your responsibility to manage. Emotions are messages providing you with information and gifts to help guide your actions. Learn to pay attention to and navigate life using your emotions as guides.

How can medical professionals reclaim heart-based healing amid pandemic, political, and other pressures?

Three things I would offer medical professionals to reclaim heart-based healing: 1) remember why you chose this profession. Know your purpose and what you value as these are the guiding principles for your actions. 2) Care for yourself. Honor yourself and have compassion for you, because without you, you have nothing, and you cannot give what you do not have. 3) Practice mindfulness. Be present and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and experiences as you move through your day. And reflect upon those at the end of each day.

Is there a particular book that you read, or podcast you listened to that really helped you in your work as a healthcare professional? Can you explain?

What helped me stay grounded and focused were my colleagues, having a coach, and being able to share the stressors with people who cared about me. Listening to others discuss their issues stopped me from staying in my head and obsessing over my thoughts, and instead enabled me to be of service to others, providing support and coaching. Having a (professional) coach provided me with a sounding board and enabled me to have a safe space to share so I could look at things from a different perspective. Different from friends, the conversations with a coach are all about you so you can fully explore what’s happening, how you think and feel about what’s happening, and what you want to do and who you want to be. My friends at work provided essential support and love. Studies now show the importance of having a friend at work who can serve as a support. Teamwork and collaboration (being valued at work) are the essential building blocks for well-being and enjoyment at work, aside from self-care and good boundaries.

Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence in the healthcare community. If you could inspire other doctors and nurses to bring change to affect the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? Said another way, what difference do you see needs to be made for our collective future?

· More collaboration and less siloes. Teamwork and collaboration are how the work gets done.

· Create team charters that spell out the rules for engagement. Induct new hires into the team with a ceremony that includes the review of the team charter.

· Rethink the way care is delivered, roles people have, and the tasks people perform. Be less attached to the way you have always done things. Ask why — why do we do it that way? Is there another, more efficient way to perform the task? And who is the best person for the job?

· Create work environments that support respect and acknowledgment. Make no excuses for bad behavior.

· Acknowledge, value, and appreciate one another regularly (daily!). People need to hear how they matter and make a difference in the lives of others.

· Learn to become emotionally intelligent teams and organizations, not just individuals.

· Use trauma-informed language — we are all fragile and each of us has suffered some sort of trauma in our lives.

· Create improved onboarding to welcome and embrace new hires.

· Support each other’s health and well-being. Care about and for one another.

How can people connect with you?

Visit my website at www.DrJulieDonley.com or email me at DrJulieDonley@gmail.com

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Michelle Tennant Nicholson
Michelle Tennant Nicholson

Written by Michelle Tennant Nicholson

Human development author | entrepreneur | publicist | beekeeper | whitewater kayaker | Siberian husky hugger | Chief Creative Officer WasabiPublicity.com