Nurses Month Member Spotlight: Kathy Owen, MS, RN-BC

Kathy Owen, MS, RN-BC is the lead product manager at UKG, a company that is open to helping employees establish a daily schedule that aligns with their values and priorities. Her company supports her in various ways, especially when it comes to her volunteering with HIMSS. “Those meetings are built into my schedule and prioritized - they’re important to me and my professional growth,” Kathy says.

Kathy’s organization, UKG, is focused promoting wellness and self-care in their employees. They offer wellness programs where employees can earn rewards for wellness and share wellness initiatives. Although the company have traditional PTO, they offer "My Time", which promotes taking time for vacation and rest. The most recent change is allowing employees to have a flexible way to submit for the benefits that matter to them most (i.e. pet insurance, health memberships, exercise programs) as opposed to offering set benefits. UKG also offers organizational benefits to support service work and volunteering.

Kathy has adapt to changes in her work environment over the last few years. “I have moved into a hybrid remote role in my company – I am mostly virtual, but can travel to offices as needed for project kick offs etc.” She collaborates with an engineering team that is located in India and works virtually. “We have been doing these meetings for quite some time so I feel we make the most of the collaborations to innovate while at the same time taking care of each other by respecting time zone challenges.”

After receiving her BSN from Northern Illinois University, Kathy began her career in Pediatric Intensive Care at Children’s Memorial Hospital (now The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago) and has worked in various roles over her 30 years at the organization. She received her master’s degree from DePaul University in Nursing with a focus on education. In her spare time, she has taught for both DePaul University and Chamberlain College of Nursing. She also has her ANCC Board Certification in Nursing Informatics and has been instrumental in promoting NI through her work with HIMSS and the American Nursing Informatics Association.

When looking for inspiration, Kathy turns to a favorite quote. “Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.” -  Bob Bitchin

 

This year's Nurses Month is sponsored by: