Cultivating Careers: Jeff Kubik, RN, BSN, CRRN

Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals is proud of the longevity of our organization—both how long we’ve served the Lincoln and Omaha communities, as well as the dedication of our staff who have continued Madonna’s mission throughout 20, 30, even 40 years of their career. Many of these staff members will tell you they didn’t expect the trajectory their career took, but they’re grateful for the opportunities to learn and grow at Madonna. Jeff Kubik, RN, BSN, CRRN, Madonna’s Director of Acute Rehabilitation Nursing, sat down for a quick Q&A about his experience.

Q: When did you start at Madonna?

Jeff: I started at Madonna in December of 1998 as a staff nurse in Madonna’s Specialty Hospital. I originally thought I wanted to be an emergency room nurse. My plan was to work at Madonna for six months while I waited for an opening in the emergency department of a local hospital. But, I quickly realized that I loved rehabilitation work, and I felt a sense of community with my co-workers. I’ve been with Madonna ever since.

Q: What has your career trajectory looked like from where you started to where you are now?

Jeff: I started out as a staff nurse, and then I became a relief supervisor. After that, I was a nurse therapist, a nurse manager in the Specialty Hospital, and I moved on to the director of staffing, the director of quality and nursing informatics, then the director of nursing for acute rehabilitation. It took me 12 years to get to the position I am in, but I was fortunate at Madonna to have many different leadership positions over those 12 years.

Q: Did you expect your career to follow this path?

Jeff: I always anticipated I would be in some sort of a leadership position within health care. My parents were both leaders in health care. My mom was a director of nursing and a nursing home administrator, and my dad was a hospital administrator. So growing up, that was a conversation at the dinner table and it seemed like a natural progression for me.

Q: What’s one thing you wish you could tell your younger self about your career?

Jeff: If I could tell myself anything, I’d like to look back and tell myself that nursing is a very rewarding profession. There’s so many really neat things that come from it, from taking care of patients to the camaraderie amongst your co-workers. Another thing would be to look for a place and an environment that makes you happy. I think Madonna is an amazing place because of the sense of community and the patient outcomes that we have. I’m from a small town, where community is really important and everyone is very tightknit. I didn’t realize I was missing that feeling until I got to Madonna and felt that sense of belonging.

Q: What is something you want nurses to know about Madonna?

Jeff: There are many, many opportunities at Madonna. There are many different care areas. There are other types of nursing from case management to occupational health nursing, and then many different areas of leadership within the patient care areas. If your goal is to become a nurse leader, I think the first thing you need to do is be a role model on the floor. You need to show your leadership skills with your co-workers. Look for growth opportunities. Take your CRRN (Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse) certification, any education you can do, ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) training and do the ICAN (Interdisciplinary Clinical Advancement Navigator) career ladder, which is designed to reward clinicians for their dedication and engagement. You can earn incentives for going above and beyond in different clinical areas. From there, look at different positions as they come available. Maybe you’ll start out as a relief supervisor and then supervisor on the floor. From there, the sky’s the limit.