Guest

So I'm Pam Supriano, currently the 35th president of the American Nurses Association, I'm a registered nurse, have been for 41 years. I grew up in a family that was first generation American parents outside of Philadelphian suburbs. When I graduated high school, I first went to college as a med tech major in a Small rural community in Pennsylvania in a state school. I didn't really like that, so after two years I tried to figure out what I wanted to do, it's not like I had wanted to be a nurse my whole life. But I had all these biology and chemistry so I said, well, I'll go to nursing school. So I did. I returned home to suburban Philadelphia and went to school at the hospital at the university of Pennsylvania. I had some great clinical experiences Completed my bachelor's degree. A couple years later, about three years later, went on, completed my master's degree. Then, about five years after that, pursued my doctoral degree which took me a while to get through. &gt;&gt; Mm-hm. &gt;&gt; With marriage, children, moves. &gt;&gt; It seems like you've experienced a lot of challenges of like even just getting the PhD you mentioned. That you had family, and moves and married and all of those sort of life challenges. Can you speak to how you overcome those challenges? &gt;&gt; My think about the PhD that was an interesting time for me because I had just finished my course work when I just got married and we were moving across the country. I would not advice that. [LAUGH] And it was on my maternity leave for my second child that I wrote my final dissertation which was terrible, terrible. I needed to concentrate at that time and I really wished that I hadn't had to do that because in retrospect, I felt like I kind of cheated both of us from that really nice experience. We all make choices and sometimes, they may not always be the best ones at the moment, but they're what you have to do. There are times where we all have to be very selfish. We have to say I need to make the best decision for me or maybe me and my family and making sure that you're taking some time for reflection because no one is going to look after your interests better than you are yourself. 

Get involved in organizations and volunteer. Take on leadership roles as often as you can. 

My parents were first generation Americans so growing up had its challenges. 

I wrote my last dissertation while I was on maternity leave and I always felt like a didn't give either of those things the attention they deserved.

I work to advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on healthcare issues affecting nurses and the public.

President

I don't think I can balance the responsibilities of my work and my personal life. 

Pam Cipriano

About Pam

Pam Cipriano

About Pam

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