The journey towards innovation and leadership.
Renewed drive
Challenges
Goal
Learning became a renewed passion once I began the RN to BSN program at Samuel Merritt University in 2016. Health policy engaged me in the political nature of the industry, while public health sent me to work in the community and shined a light on the urgency of addressing population health. Leadership courses generated self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the communication skills vital to making change. The science of learning brought with it improved processes for synthesizing new information in ways that make knowledge and know-how stick. Together, these building blocks have established a cycle of drive and enthusiasm to learn and do more about improving healthcare on a broader scale.
Finding the balance between work and family is always a challenge, but never more so than now, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The resulting situation of facilitating meaningful "distance learning" for my 11-year old daughter during school closures has put career advancement temporarily on hold. I am truly grateful that I have a profession that allows me to work part time, so that I can be there for my daughter during this time of the unprecedented social isolation of our youth. However, I am still able to seek opportunities for self-expansion in my current role of Assistant Nurse Manager. I am currently helping to lead my unit through the development of a professional nurse council, in line with Magnet status requirements, and with the management of of multiple quality improvement projects.
I recently achieved my goal of obtaining my Masters Degree in Nursing from UCSF with a focus on Health Policy. The program enriched my twenty plus years of frontline perspective. I continue to be motivated to work towards improving health care systems and delivery and creating healthy work environments for nurses and other frontline workers. My passion for promoting the wellbeing of patients and their families continues to be the driving force in my career. My ultimate goal is to journey upstream to solutions in healthcare as an innovator and leader in quality improvement.
