MATHEWS

My career started in 1970 when I got my first job in nursing. I worked in a hospital medical surgical department. I loved the clinical work, but was also drawn to teaching, counseling and facilitating. In the following ten years, I worked in medical, surgical, intensive care and emergency department settings as a staff nurse and as a manager. During this time, I returned to school for my bachelor's degree and continued working as a manager of a medical-surgical unit... In 1978, I took a position as a manager of staff development. In this role, I had the opportunity to do all of what I loved…teaching, coaching and facilitating. I also returned to school for my master's degree, and was able to gain even more perspective on performance improvement and management. My internship in the New Jersey State Department of Health broadened my perspective. I then had the opportunity to start a new and innovative program for patient and community health education, which served as a model for other..