Danielle Teto

I think my mom was a strong influence. She always encouraged my sister and I to be independent, to be educated, to always have our own career. She didn't take much for an answer when it came to making sure we did our schoolwork and did it well. So I would say it was her influence and her encouragement that really shaped my success.

The best career advice I ever received was to never settle in your career and to keep looking for new challenges, because it keeps you growing. I had a manager at a home care agency years ago who encouraged me to pursue a leadership position, and she told me that challenges help you grow. So I've learned to seek out challenges, seek out knowledge, and always put my best foot forward and do the best job I can. I've done so many different types of nursing - inpatient psychiatry, general surgery, inpatient acute rehab, worked in a doctor's office - and I love home health, it's one of my passions. Each new position has been a little bit more challenging, and I think that keeps you on your toes, especially in a healthcare profession. It makes you hungry to learn more, because if you're in the same role, you get stagnant and maybe not as passionate.

My advice would be to work in a hospital when you first come out of nursing school for a minimum of 2 years to get the most vast and challenging experiences. Once you've done that, you can work anywhere. Every other job will seem easier because the level of nursing in a hospital is the most intense. If you can do that, you can do anything. A lot of people start there and then move on, while some people stay there, but getting that hospital experience gives you the foundation to succeed anywhere in nursing.

I would say the biggest challenges are that payers have continually reduced the reimbursement for healthcare, for home care specifically, but I also know that other industries have suffered. Healthcare costs are out of control, but I don't really know what the solution would be. We try to be as good as we can be as far as stewarding resources and making sure that we're only giving what patients absolutely need, but the regulations have just gotten more and more difficult over the years. Unfortunately, I feel like we don't give as much care as we used to or want to for some of our patients, and it affects their care.

I would say loyalty and trust, honesty, and integrity are most important to me. I'm very straightforward with my staff, with my colleagues, and with my own boss. I think those are all very important in being a professional, especially in a role where we are taking care of patients and we have to be very honest with people, with insurance companies and doctors. Those main characteristics also spill over into my personal life as well.