Her Story
About Shemika
I'm a practice manager who owns two practices with Walmart, where I've been for 6 years now. I manage about 44 people, including providers, nurses, and schedulers across both locations. My background is in the military - I'm an Army veteran - and I've been in healthcare for over 20 years. Every day is different for me. There's no typical day. I'm making sure the practice runs efficiently and effectively, meeting our metrics, and right now we're going through a major transition with new systems for our Nurses Access Center and schedulers. But beyond the operational side, I'm really focused on my team. We spend five days a week together, so we're one big family. I want to make sure they're good not just professionally, but personally too. I have an open door policy and do one-on-ones every month to check in with everyone. I'm their confidant, someone they can come to and talk about whatever they need. When we're short-staffed, I step into whatever role is needed to make sure I'm not overloading my team with extra work. I also mentor two people through our Ladders to Leadership program, where they shadow me to become leaders themselves. I'm heavily involved in veteran initiatives too - I chair Walmart's veteran DRG and lead employment and provider engagement, and I recently received a Veterans Award for this work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shemika
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
One key piece of advice that I give everybody is, you know, the road may seem hard. There's going to be challenges. However, don't stop because you feel as though it's hard, because getting to where you want to be is never easy. There's going to be stumbling blocks, there's going to be roadblocks. However, if you continue to do what you do, continue to make that step towards what you want to be, you'll get there. It's not going to come overnight, and again, there's going to be stressors, there's going to be things like, okay, I want to give up because it's not giving me, you know, it's not coming fast. Success doesn't come back that way. So just take it day at a time, one step at a time, and you're going to get to where you need to be.
02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges I face right now as a leader are the constant changes, especially having to balance between two practices. When I don't have enough staff to cover, I have to step into those roles myself to ensure things are running smoothly. My people grow and move on, and of course I'm their cheerleader - if that's what they want to do, I make sure they have the tools they need to get where they need to be. But when that happens, I have to step into that role to ensure that I still navigate and work efficiently, and things are running smoothly regardless of whether I have that person or not. One of my biggest challenges is not having the amount of people with the amount of workload that I do have, to ensure that we're working properly and not stressing everybody out because we're short-staffed. I have to do whatever I've got to do to make sure that I'm not overloading them with extra work because we're short-staffed.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My values center around ensuring that my team has all the tools they need. I have an open door policy - I let them know that if there's anything they need, not just work-related but personal too, they can come to me. Communication is a big thing for me. If I don't know what you need, if you don't communicate with me, I can't help. That's my motto. I'm bouncing between two practices, so they know they need to communicate with me. I want to ensure they have what they need, when they need it, regardless of whether it's personal or work-related. They know they can always count on me during that time. We spend all our time together, five days a week, so we're literally one big family. It's more than just work. I want to make sure they're good personally too. I do one-on-ones every month to check in with them, to make sure all is well, and that they are where they need to be. I'm that confidant, that person they can come to and talk to about whatever.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.