Robin Ferrer, MBA, MSN, RN, Vice President of Emergency Services
Patients sometimes experience the Emergency Department (ED) as a place where things are uncertain, unexpected, and people may look and behave strangely—a bit like Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking-Glass,” Robin Ferrer, MBA, MSN, RN, likes to say.
“Emergency Departments are the looking glass into the hospital,” Mr. Ferrer, Vice President of Emergency Services for the Mount Sinai Health System, says, “and for some people, their impression of the Mount Sinai organization lies with that visit to one of our emergency departments.”
Mr. Ferrer joined Mount Sinai Health System in early 2021, as New York was continuing to experience COVID-19 hospitalizations and illness while facing the challenge of vaccinating millions of people. Mr. Ferrer oversees clinical operations and nursing personnel across all Emergency Departments for Mount Sinai Health System. His leadership role advocates for the advancement and improvement of Emergency Services. “I think the pandemic had a big impact on our front lines, particularly the ED, where we are the first receivers of patients. One week was managing COVID-19 and the next week was managing something entirely different,” he says. “The biggest challenge for staffing in the ED is at the nursing level, by virtue of what nurses do—being primary caregivers at the bedside, managing most of the services and treatments, getting patients to their CT scans and X-rays, hooking up IVs, making sure medications are given and orders are completed.”
Mr. Ferrer, who also serves as an adjunct professor at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, teaching Business and Health Care Administration, is committed to helping others move forward. “My ultimate goal as a leader is to enable other people to be successful. I have always said, when I don’t feel myself doing that, I should question why I am in leadership.”
Mr. Ferrer frequently references two population groups he is responsible for: patients and staff. “Successfully taking care of staff and the environment where they work will result in positive patient outcomes.” He adds, “Patients are ultimately the beneficiaries of every decision we make. I want to be sure when we make a decision, that it is grounded in principle and the patient will benefit from the outcome, and our staff will feel the decision represents a step in the right direction.”
Mr. Ferrer grew up in New York City in what he describes as a “pretty dire situation.” As a child he was sent to the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and now sees that experience as a buttress for his personal journey towards leadership and a desire to help and support others.
“Milton Hershey School is where I learned leadership skills and discipline. I didn’t know anyone when I arrived, but I found myself surrounded by an army of people willing to help and support me to be successful,” he says. “I understand we all have a story, and we need to take a moment to listen and appreciate where people come from and how their past has enabled their future. That resonates with me most.”
Mr. Ferrer started as a bedside nurse in the Emergency Department at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and quickly felt a gravitation towards leadership. After completing his Master of Business Administration from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York City, Mr. Ferrer spent the next 15 years in leadership roles. As Director of Operations at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, Mr. Ferrer managed multiple service lines and departments, including the Adult Emergency Department, Psychiatric Emergency, Outpatient Psychiatry, Respiratory Therapy, Hemodialysis, and the Pulmonary Function Lab.
Giving people a chance and reflecting on his own experience of having others provide strong mentorship and guidance has influenced Mr. Ferrer’s belief that new nurse graduates can be successful starting their career in the Emergency Department. He says, “Before I started, there was some hesitancy about taking new graduates into the ED.”
When Mr. Ferrer inquired about that hesitancy, the response was almost always the same: they don’t have experience. “I said to myself, these new graduates just finished school and are bursting with excitement, ready to go, and hungry for an opportunity. Why don’t we just provide appropriate onboarding and training so they can be a part of our team?”
Fast forward 18 months, and the Mount Sinai Emergency Department Nursing Fellowship program now boasts of a 98 percent retention rate. This 24-week program includes simulations, online modules, and hands-on training. Fellows are paired with an experienced registered nurse from the ED staff and work with nurse preceptors. Mr. Ferrer believed new graduate nursing students could successfully transition to practice in the ED. “The driving force was putting together a robust curriculum so after six months nurses would feel comfortable and safe with the resources around them.” He continues, “We are going into our fifth cohort and have 32 people who started this month across all of our emergency departments who are new graduates from all over the country.”
“Give people an opportunity and a chance and set them up for success, and you will be astounded by how well people do just by giving them that opportunity.”