NURSE LEADER
ara millette , mba , dnp , rn , ne-bc
Director of Talent Acquisition , Lifespan
What drew you to the nursing field ? I was raised by a single mom who always encouraged me to dream big . Nurses can be experts at just about anything , which is what drew me to the field . Nurses are healers , advocates , leaders , teachers , inventors , philanthropists and lawmakers , so a nursing career is limitless . I was an undecided major in college . Serendipitously , my roommate was a nursing major and her mom an influential nursing leader . With patience and some career coaching , they helped me see that nursing would be the perfect fit for me . I ’ m so appreciative because I could never picture myself doing anything different .
In what ways have you been able to lead your colleagues effectively during your role ? I am currently in a nontraditional nursing leadership role that allows me to blend my past experiences as a critical care nurse and as a nursing leader | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 78
CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST
Brenna franco , mSN , aprn , aCCns-ag
Rhode Island Hospital Center for Professional Practice and Innovation
Tell us what drew you to the field . I ’ ve always been a bit of a caregiver , if you will . When I was little , if my friends had a wiggly tooth , they ’ d say , “ Brenna will take care of that for us .” I was never afraid of anything like that . It was probably a foreshadowing of nursing in my future . In high school anatomy class , I thought it was the coolest thing learning about the body . I thought , if I can do this for the rest of my life , I ’ d be OK with that .
Talk about your specialty of neuro-spine and neuro-stroke . I oversee two units : the general neurology unit and the spinal surgical unit . We treat seizure patients for epilepsy monitoring . We ’ re affiliated with the neuro-stroke unit but not the stroke unit . Nurses need to be NIH stroke certified and we provide training to take care of patients . My background is being a medical surgical nurse and I came into this role and started neuro . I act as a resource | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 78
68 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2023