Throughout their careers, Laureen Driscoll, MSN, RN, and Kathy Tussey, DNP, RN, remained open to change and said yes more often than no, even to opportunities about which they were skeptical or knew would be a challenge.
Today, Ms. Driscoll is chief executive of Providence's South Division, which spans 17 hospitals in Northern and Southern California, and Dr. Tussey is CEO of Harrison Memorial Hospital in Cynthiana, Ky. Neither envisioned pursuing a path to the top role when they began their healthcare careers as bedside nurses.
"That certainly was not on my radar," Ms. Driscoll told Becker's.
"CEO is not something I ever thought I would be," Dr. Tussey said.
Hospital and health system CEOs with a background in nursing appear to be few and far between, though the true proportion of nurse CEOs in healthcare is unclear due to a lack of data. Becker's recently caught up with Ms. Driscoll and Dr. Tussey to learn more about their career trajectories and their top pieces of advice for other nurses eyeing a path to the helm.
'Always be open to change'
While both leaders described being called to nursing to care for others, along the way they realized they enjoyed aspects of the work that involved identifying bottlenecks and coming up with better processes, as well as seeing those around them succeed.
They remained open-minded, had a strong interest in learning from leaders around them and were committed to advancing their education.
"What really helped me was having mentors in my life and not being afraid to expand my capabilities to do other things," Ms. Driscoll said. As a nursing director and nursing manager, she took on responsibilities that were not necessarily traditional in those roles to gain a better understanding of hospital operations.
"That really served me well as I moved into some of the more complex leadership roles," Ms. Driscoll said. Before serving as chief executive for Providence's South Division, she was the president of Tacoma General and Allenmore hospitals, both of which are part of Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare. Prior to MultiCare, she was the COO for Swedish Cherry Hill Campus in Seattle.
After starting her career as an emergency department nurse at Baptist Health in Lexington, Ky., leaders took notice of Dr. Tussey's knack for leadership, and she quickly became a charge nurse. She went on to become director of the emergency department and then executive director for nursing administration. She joined Harrison Memorial in 2022 as COO and chief nursing officer, and she became CEO in June.
"I think a lot of us never think that that is something we can do," Dr. Tussey said. "I always advise people to be prepared for the opportunities that are going to come your way, whether that's obtaining a certification or advancing your education. … Always be looking for ways that you can learn and invest in the people around you, in yourself."
Ms. Driscoll, who earned a Master of Business Administration in 2013, echoed the value of pursuing education and saying yes to challenges, and she encouraged nurses to embrace their clinical experience when seeking leadership roles.
"Always be open to change," she said. "So much has changed in the delivery of care over my 30 plus years, and it's often generated from ideas of people who are delivering care closer to the bedside. So speak up, be willing to take the risk and bring your idea forward."