Passion for the patient has never wavered for Jaclyn Carr, M.S.N. ‘18, as she celebrates spending the last decade at OhioHealth. A Capital University alumna and current Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, Carr prioritizes wellness for herself, patients, and staff.
Carr graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Psychology, but life immediately started to shift her career trajectory. When her grandmother was placed in the intensive care unit, she was inspired to become a nurse.
“I had never been so amazed at a profession or looked up to people as much as I did the nurses in that moment,” she said. The care and compassion she witnessed at the bedside led her to Chamberlain University, where she would earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Soon after graduation, she took a position with Riverside Hospital as an Intermediate Nurse. Nine months later, she was promoted to Assistant Nurse Manager which led to Manager of Critical Care. Her new role allowed her to express caring influence over a unit rather than the few patients she would encounter day-to-day.
OhioHealth’s Scholars Program allowed Carr to earn her Master of Science in Nursing from Capital University. The School of Nursing allowed her to continue to work, care for her family, and complete the degree. Her research often directly applied to her administrative role, allowing her to get real-world experience in a classroom setting.
Her education at Capital University gave her the skills to move to OhioHealth Doctors Hospital as the new Inpatient Nursing Director and in June 2021, she was promoted to Chief NursingOfficer.
A global pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to Carr and her team. With resources and staffing stretched thin, an essential part of her new role has been to support the front-line staff.
“It fills my cup to go out and work with the bedside nurses,” she said. “That’s truly where the magic happens.”
When reflecting on her time at Capital University’s School of Nursing, Carr reinforced the impact that the holistic nursing program has had on her career. She attests her current holistic practices to Deborah Shields, Ph.D., R.N., professor, mentioning that yoga, meditation, and the prioritization of wellness has stuck with her from the jumpstart of her career and influence of her education.
As an active alumna, Carr has continued to keep in touch with Jean Scholz Mellum, Ph.D., assistant professor, and precept current nursing students.
Her advice to current nursing students is that you are needed now more than ever. In her role, she has seen the stressors of the pandemic but reminds students the time will pass. Carr hopes that administrators will find ways to help nurses overcome the current global situation and provide as individualized patient care as possible.