Smiles! Oh how I love seeing them again! I hope this means we have turned the corner and can leave the pain of the past month and the struggles of the past three years behind. January 2023 has to go down as one of the most difficult months in UAMS history. We returned from the holiday […]

The beginning of 2023 was not the festive celebration I had anticipated, having just learned of the passing of our colleague, UAMS College of Medicine Dean Susan Smyth. Since joining UAMS in March 2021, she supported our nursing programs and worked to enhance communication and collaboration between clinical programs and the College of Medicine.  I also lost […]

If you’re like me, you’ve got one question on your mind right now – how can it be December already?!?!? This year seems to have flown by faster than others, and I think one of the reasons is that we’re so excited about opportunities to see each other again. It was SO wonderful to see […]

Wow. October was a busy month! But, it was a “good” busy, with our LPN hiring process well underway, recognition of Care Management, Emergency Nurses, MAs, PAs, Respiratory Therapy, Infection Prevention, Physical Therapy, Pharmacy, Healthcare Quality, Health Education and Sterile Processing, our eight “40 under 40” Nurse Leaders, our “Great 100 Nurses in Arkansas,” and […]

One of questions many of you are thinking is probably, “When will everything get better?” I’m thrilled to finally be able to answer, “Hopefully very soon!” First, COVID numbers here at UAMS and across Arkansas continue to improve. The Arkansas Department of Health reported earlier this week that 206 people were hospitalized in our state, […]

Last month marked my three-year anniversary as Chief Nursing Officer. When I stepped into this role, I had been fortunate to work with the amazing UAMS Nursing team for many years, and I was looking forward to working with you on many opportunities, but I had no idea about the challenges ahead. As I have […]

Remember when the COVID pandemic began two and a half years ago and there was no toilet paper on store shelves? As more people started working from home, there were no computers, web cameras, monitors or laptops. Then, supply chain issues created random shortages of everything from cream cheese to cars. With the Russian invasion […]

As we welcome the 70 recent new graduate RNs who are joining our UAMS nursing team this summer, I’ve reflected back on the early days of my nursing career. I went to nursing school because I wanted to care for patients at the bedside. I started my career as a new grad nurse in the […]

I’d like to urge each of you to complete the UAMS Employee Engagement Survey between now and Friday, June 17. The survey is open to all employees hired before Feb. 16, your responses are confidential, and this is your chance to let our leadership team know how we can improve your experience as a UAMS […]

Happy Nurses Week!  We officially kicked off this year’s week of recognition of nursing at UAMS yesterday morning with a kick-off and blessing of the hands. It was a special and moving way to begin our week. Tonight, nurses across Arkansas will be honored as bridges and office buildings in downtown Little Rock are lit […]