Featured Projects
Leadership in Practice
Demonstrating AONL Nurse Leader Competencies Through Featured Projects
Business Skills and Principles
Nursing Education & Professional Development Redesign
Collaborated with the leadership team to integrate the NEPD department following a major health system merger, aligning with specialty standards to establish nursing professional development practitioner roles, realign job descriptions, and introduce needed leadership positions. This initiative has been recognized as a best practice, presented nationally, and resulted in consults from organizations nationwide.
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Additional Leadership Contributions: Co-chaired the First Year Nursing Turnover Taskforce, developing interview standard work, a peer ambassador approach, and a retention toolkit. Led the evaluation and expansion of the Preferred Partner Program to enhance nurse advancement. Conducted regular benchmarking and outcome analysis to inform department strategic planning and support integration efforts.
Communication and Relationship Management
Engaging Clinical Nurses in Community Outreach
Coordinated with local nonprofits and school districts to create permanent "pop-up" volunteer opportunities for clinical nurses, where new graduate nurses engage with high school students on health topics like stress prevention, mental health, and healthy lifestyles. This service-learning initiative enhances bedside care by fostering empathy, strengthening community connections, and promoting a deeper understanding of patient needs. View these "pop-up" events in action.
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Additional Leadership Contributions: Championed a joint faculty program in collaboration with local schools of nursing. Co-developed the POC Nurse Leader Mentor Program in partnership with Human Resources. Served as the nurse representative for Joint Accreditation designation, collaborating with physicians, pharmacy, and social work teams to offer 1,000 annual activities. ​​​
Knowledge of Health Care Environment and Clinical Principles
MyChart Now Regional Implementation
Spearheaded the MyChart Now regional implementation for the Midwest in collaboration with nursing and volunteer services, enabling patients to access a patient portal via their smartphones for real-time updates during their inpatient stay. Post-implementation, HCAHPS scores improved significantly in key nursing areas, including "Received Information" (14.7%), "Nurses Listen" (8.7%), and "Nurses Explain" (8.6%), with a 64% increase in portal usage and 100% nurse satisfaction based on post-implementation evaluations. Learn more about this successful rollout from lead volunteer champion, Bob.
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Additional Leadership Contributions: Former chair of the Clinical Policy and Procedure Committee for the legacy Midwest Region. Established nurse resident clinical rounding as a standard NPD practice during the first month of orientation to enhance enculturation, resulting in key NGNR Program enhancements, retention improvement, and honorable mention recipient of the 2024 Stronger Together Team Award. Spearheaded the Nurse Quality Influencer Model that advanced nursing sensitive indicators for sites.
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Leadership
Strategic Leadership in Nurse Residency Program Development
Pioneered the department's first large-scale integration of the enterprise-wide New Graduate Nurse Residency program, working with subject matter experts across the organization guided by stakeholder feedback, current literature, and accreditation standards. Launched in January 2024, the program successfully engaged over 2,700 nurse residents, achieving a 96% retention rate and offering post-residency opportunities for mentorship, community involvement, and career advancement. Additionally, secured re-accreditation with distinction for one of the world’s largest programs as shown in the photo.
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Additional Leadership Contributions: Sponsored the "Supporting Orientation Around Residents" (SOAR) Program, enabling nurse residents to obtain customized support approaches to promote retention. Debuted the Experienced Nurse Fellowship Program, designed in response to turnover trends among newly hired experienced nurses. Co-created the 'HIVE' experience, a collaborative space for clinical and non-clinical leaders to innovate and ideate in a structured setting, reducing leader burden and enhancing retention.
Professionalism
Professional Leadership and Service
Actively involved in the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD), contributing to foundational texts such as the Leadership in Nursing Professional Development (2nd Edition). Co-host of the NPD Forecast podcast, with two consecutive terms served on the ANPD Board of Directors. Set to begin term as President-Elect in April 2025. Recognized for leadership with the Belinda E. Puetz Exemplary NPD Leadership Award in 2023 and the upcoming Champion for Scientific Inquiry Award in 2025.
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Additional Leadership Contributions: Contributing author of NPD Scope and Standards (4th Edition) and Nursing Professional Development Practice Model. Championed multiple research studies to examine the impacts of the transition to practice experience.
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