Monica Munaretto
May 2023
Monica
Munaretto
,
MSN, RN, OCN
Inpatient Hematology
City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

We are presented with a clear vision for our team and continuously encouraged to reinvent ourselves to seek better patient outcomes.
Leadership is defined as the act of guiding a group of people or organization to a desired goal, result, or higher level. A great leader sets out to make a difference by motivating people to do great things to make the organization succeed. At City of Hope, Monica Munaretto manages the hematology nursing teams; she has done an outstanding job of motivating the staff to transform management visions into reality. 
 
The pandemic and its aftermath have been tough for our organization. Amidst the staffing shortage, she works tirelessly with the team members at all levels to ensure continuity of care for our patients. She is the first to recognize when staff are overworked and does not hesitate to respond to time off requests.  When we had shortages, she would stay late at night to motivate the staff to continue to do their best; she would check in several times a day to see if there were any issues that she could help resolve. She encourages decision-making and provides timely guidance for nurses to succeed at the personal and organizational levels. Monica is always connected with our team and makes herself available 24/7. 
 
In the past year, City of Hope has transformed rapidly to meet the challenges of the post-pandemic era. Monica ensures that changes are communicated very clearly to all the employees down to the grass-root level. Hence our nursing staff gets excited about changes and willingly embraces them to make the transition into new routines seamlessly. We are presented with a clear vision for our team and continuously encouraged to reinvent ourselves to seek better patient outcomes. If there are concerns, she will take care of them quickly, even if it needs reaching out to the highest levels of management. Prompt responses to sensitive issues solve even the toughest problems. 
 
Monica is the first one to offer congratulations to a staff member for a job well done. She is also quickly on the scene to resolve any conflicts and empathize as needed. I have seen her grieve with patients’ relatives; she would get teary-eyed when staff share their personal and professional challenges. When the nursing team faces tough patient issues, Monica would intervene with the appropriate resource to mitigate the matter. On a recent occasion, I remember Monica helping a patient with her bath routine. “To lead by example” is easily said; but tough to perform. She does not hesitate to answer a call from the patient room, check on an IV beep, empty a urinal, or perform a little housekeeping or tidying up. These acts have buoyed the spirit of her team immensely and continue to garner their praises. 
 
Great leaders find the proper balance between business foresight, performance, and character. They have vision, courage, integrity, humility, and focus, along with the ability to plan strategically and catalyze cooperation among their team. Monica exemplifies these qualities on a daily basis. For me that makes Monica Munaretto a true DAISY Nurse Leader.