An exclusive interview: The nurse leader inspiring a nation to take better care of its nurses

There are people that will say our healthcare system is more of a sick-care system. We also tend to manage health on the downstream effects versus the upstream and not really address the root causes. There are places in the world that try to focus on health from in utero, from preventing your next readmission in the womb, and we're usually pretty late to the game. We have a major health literacy issue in the U.S., which is clearly evident during a pandemic, so we have some work to do with the healthcare system. What holds our system up are a lot of dedicated, compassionate, and intelligent health care workers. I speak for nurses that hold up our healthcare system, in spite of all its flaws. I also believe that to move the system in the direction it needs to move, nursing needs more of an emphasis and presence in healthcare, where they're practicing at the highest level of their licensure. That's the way to hopefully move in the direction that it needs to, particularly as it relates to focusing on wellness and prevention.

Dr. Katie Boston-Leary is a nurse executive, national speaker, veteran educator, and leadership coach with over a decade in the field. She currently serves as the director of nursing programs for the American Nurses Association, leading the Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation program. She also teaches at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Maryland School of Nursing, and serves on the advisory board at the University of Maryland Nurse Leadership Institute and St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She has proven experience in leadership and management, and most recently joined Chief, a network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there.

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