inPractice - Spring 2020 - 3

SECOND
OPINION

Q
A

How did your career take you
in directions you didn't expect?

Two of our Trustees weigh in.

Margorie Michele

Durenda A. Juergensen '82

Chief Human Resource Officer
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center

Chief Nursing Officer
Cerner Corporation

One person can change your perception of your future. As
an undergraduate, my focus was to become an investigator
and work in our criminal justice system. I majored in public
administration with a minor in criminal justice. My first job
was as a fraud investigator for a New York City agency. I
learned a lot in that role - empathy, attention to detail and
teamwork. Shortly after, I started working in higher education
and that one person, the director of human resources, introduced
me to a whole new world. I completed my master's degree and
doctorate while developing new skills to manage a dynamic
workforce in an academic medical setting as a chief human
resources officer. As the health care landscape continues to
change, my career may pivot again, but what will remain is
the continued focus on supporting the staff and the patients
we serve.

My nursing career has been very dynamic. I began my journey
as a Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit bedside nurse and
thought I would be a CVICU nurse "forever." What changed?
Opportunity. Progressing from expert clinician to CVICU
nurse manager, then adding the cardiac surgery service line.
Opportunity knocked again when I became the emergency
department director and developed my Lean Six Sigma
expertise to champion patient flow across the organization.
My career expanded as AVP of nursing operations, then VP
of inpatient nursing. All growth is fueled by learning: From
diploma, to baccalaureate, to my current doctoral adventure,
opportunities for growth continue. I never expected my career
would enable me to be a chief nursing officer within a health
care information technology company. We don't wear nursing
caps anymore, but my mother (also a nurse) would say, "You
always have room for another feather in your cap."

PA College / Spring 2020

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inPractice - Spring 2020

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