Skip to main contentSkip to main navigationSkip to footer content

April 2018 FLAME! FORWARD! Recap and slideshow

April 2018 FLAME! FORWARD! Recap and slideshow

Nightingale College has a biannual company-wide conference called FLAME! FORWARD! in which all collaborators fly in from across the country to attend workshops and trainings, to be updated on the state of the College, and to participate in Giveback Day – a Nightingale tradition of giving back to the community.

The term FLAME! FORWARD! refers to the flame that Florence Nightingale carried in her lamp as she tirelessly cared for ailing soldiers in the Crimean War. All collaborators are encouraged to follow Florence Nightingale’s example in their dealings with learners, collaborators, and their communities.

“When we say ‘I am Nightingale’ it doesn’t mean that we ARE Florence (although sometimes I feel like I’m channeling her),” said Mikhail Shneyder, CEO and President of Nightingale College during the first day of the trainings, “it means that we are engaged in creating a better world as she did.”

Day 1 – Company Alignment

Shneyder addressed all collaborators on Monday, presenting Maslow’s path to becoming self-actualized. Shneyder emphasized the importance of disconnecting from technology, and not letting your ego get in the way of your learning. “The ego is constantly in fear of what 

other people think,” he said. “Sometimes people think they are done learning when they get to a certain point in their career, or a certain degree, but in reality, we should never stop learning.”

Collaborators walked away with a new vision of what they could become by aligning with the College’s vision.  Karen Sincerbeaux said that her biggest takeaway from the day was “There is no end to what we can accomplish when we work together for a common goal!”

Day 1 also included an awards dinner where 10 previously nominated collaborators were presented with FLAME! FORWARD! awards for exemplifying the company values, one was inducted into the Founder’s Club, one given a Spark award, and three given ELEVATE awards for improving the College’s processes. Congratulations to the winners!

Day 2 – Function Alignment

On Tuesday, collaborators divided into their functions to improve processes and procedures, report on current projects’ progress, and receive updates from other functions. The Nursing Education function used this time to update the faculty on the importance of discussions and unifying their grading scale.

In financial aid, the collaborators had a round-table discussion of how to implement the concepts they learned the day before into their interactions with learners. Hope James, an advisor in financial aid, said that she learned, “Everyone is not at the same stage of emotional evolution. We must remember that when dealing with learners and other collaborators.”

Day 3 – The Speed of Trust

Collaborators were excited for the third day of the event, which was Franklin Covey’s speed of Trust training. The presentation focused on what we can do to increase trust in our relationships and with ourselves, and thus reduce costly “trust taxes.”

Jamila Lowe, our career and alumni services coordinator, said, “I particularly enjoyed the speed of trust seminar. In the packet that was handed out there is a quote by Warren Buffett that really stood out to me: ‘Trust is like the air we breathe. When it is present, no one really notices. When it is absent, everyone notices.’ In our ever evolving world trust is something, although important, hasn’t been given as much attention as it should, which is strange since trust is the basis around which all human relationships revolve, and without it there can be no relationship. Trust, in my opinion, is something we can always improve on throughout all the facets of our lives. In essence trust is loyalty. Creating a workplace rooted in trust will create a shortcut to action, and it is through this action we will build and support better health and better humanity, for a better world.”

Day 4 – Faculty Development

Faculty Development is a time for our faculty to connect and re-sync to the College’s mission, vision, and values, along with developments in our curriculum and updates to our delivery methods. “I learned that I work with amazing, kindred spirits,” said Mindy Bramwell, an instructor in our ADN Program, “I was again impressed by the vision of the College, and the dedication we show to ourselves, our collaborators, and our learners.”  

Day 5 – Give Back Day

Faculty and staff in Salt Lake City gave back at Kearns High School and the Catholic Community Services Sharehouse this year. Kearns High offers botany classes as part of their science curriculum, and their students learn how to grow different plants in an outdoor garden. Nightingale collaborators helped clean out and weed the garden beds in preparation for the spring planting.

Those who went to the Catholic Community Services Sharehouse in downtown Salt Lake City sorted through donations from dividing silverware into bags to moving mattresses and organizing the appliances. Although they got pretty sweaty and dusty, nothing feels better than giving back and lending a hand!

Because the didactic faculty is so widely spread out, most of the time the people who don’t live around the Operations Support Center in Salt Lake City complete their own Giveback Day in another area. A group of faculty in Twin Falls sorted hundreds of files for a pregnancy crisis center, Brooke Facer, the assistant manager, marketing,  twisted balloons at a brain cancer fundraiser, and Earlene Cooper, an instructor in Utah, dressed up as Pikachu for a special celebration for foster children.

Takeaways

FLAME! FORWARD! is a time for all collaborators to take a break from their normal routines and really focus on why they do what they do at Nightingale.

“I think this event is important because it allows collaborators to take some time away from their work and focus on developing and improving themselves,” said Mackenzie Peterson, our admissions assistant. “I was able to reflect on what trust meant to me and think about how I can enhance my relationships by building better trust.”

We hope that as our collaborators return to work in preparation for the busy start of the semester, they will remember what it means to carry Nightingale’s flame forward by always learning, trusting, and giving back. FLAME! FORWARD!

See a slideshow of the week below!

Skip to main content