The Yale School of Nursing (YSN) Class of 2024 holds the distinction of earning diplomas during the school’s centennial year. As graduating students prepare for the conferral of degrees on May 20, YSN is checking in with just a few of the extraordinary students adding hoods to their regalia this year.
Jonathan Donevant ’24 DNP
Nursing Director, CVICU, MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Program: Post-MSN Healthcare Systems, Leadership, and Policy
DNP Project: “Novel Use of Predictive Modeling to Decrease Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infections: Healthcare Systems Implications”
Advisor: Joan A. Kearney, PhD, APRN, FAAN
What was the most valuable part of your YSN doctoral education?
The connections that I made while here, in addition to the tools and resources to make healthcare a more accessible and safer environment for everyone.
Could you describe a class or practicum experience that had the greatest meaning for your leadership career?
Both our Business of Healthcare class and our Leadership Immersion course helped me develop much needed perspective and tools to help be a better leader and advocate for hospital staff and patients, while also being a responsible steward of the limited resources we have.
In your view, what aspect of your DNP project has the greatest potential for impact for health care delivery, the workforce, or patient populations?
The utilization of AI to impact patient safety. With the booming potential of AI and machine learning, there have been several attempts to apply it to healthcare, but more on a screen and provider assistance level. We are truly showing everyone the impact that AI and machine learning can have on front line staff and making hospitals safer.
What is the single most important thing you learned about being a systems leader?
Perspective, as weird as that is to say. Everything in leadership is about taking the time to ensure you are looking at everything from the right perspective. And it won’t always be right. If you aren’t sure, ask whether you have surrounded yourself with the right people to help correct and adjust your perspective. Leadership is about making those around you and the environment you are in better. You need to ensure you have a diverse group of people around you to ensure that your own perspective is right, because no matter how hard we try, we will not always be able to look at everything from every angle by ourselves.
How do you plan to bring what you learned to your professional life post commencement?
I hope to change healthcare for the better. Everyone deserves equitable and easy access to high-quality and safe care. While going through this program, I also experienced healthcare for the first time from the view of a patient, twice to become a father, and once with my own father. It truly made me re-examine my views on healthcare and how much better our healthcare can be.
What advice do you have for any nurse leader who is considering the Post-Master’s DNP in Healthcare Leadership, Systems and Policy DNP?
Do it, without hesitation. It has given me the tools, context, and connections to be a leader in today’s healthcare. Relish and learn from every moment, persevere in those times of hardship (there will be some) and get to know your classmates. I could not have done this program without the guidance and support of my amazing classmates. But without question I have come out on the other side a better leader, and person.
More Commencement Coverage
To read more student profiles and advice from six decades of YSN alumni to the Class of 2024, please visit the Commencement 2024 sidebar on the left (mobile devices, scroll down).
For more information on Yale’s commencement festivities, please visit commencement.yale.edu.