Dr. Judith Shamian RN FAAN

Chief Executive Officer - Victoria of Nurses (VON)

Beginning her career as a clinical nurse Judith Shamian earned her way to the Chief Executive office at the Victoria Order of Nurses. Along the way she has learned many things and feels strongly about the importance of mentoring nurses in hopes of inspiring future nursing leaders. In our conversation how we discuss the inspiration for beginning her research and her advice for aspiring nursing students and nurses. Among her many words of wisdom Judith recommends nurses find their a purpose they feel strongly about and a passion to learn about how organizations work. Learning to make decisions based on available knowledge, learn from mistakes and constantly reflect on your work is another critical lesson she passes on to future leaders.

Resources Discussed

• Presentations given by Judith as CEO of VON
• Articles published by Judith
• Role responsibilities of head nurses in primary nursing and team nursing units. J Nurs Adm. 1988 May;18(5):7.
• Registered nurse and registered practical nurse evaluations of their hospital practice environments and their responses to these environments.
  Tourangeau AE, Coghlan AL, Shamian J, Evans S.
  Nurs Leadersh (Tor Ont). 2005 Dec;18(4):54-69

Question

Dr. Judith Shamian: Do you have a plan of how to gain different experiences in the next 12-15 months? What would you like to explore or do?