Heather Hudnall is the Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at NTT Data, bringing over 15 years of experience as a bedside nurse and health tech leader. In this interview, she discusses the critical importance of including nurse perspectives in healthcare leadership and technology decisions.

Key Takeaways

• There is a lack of nurses and clinicians in healthcare leadership roles. Only 1% of boardroom seats are occupied by nurses, even though they make up 30% of the workforce. This lack of representation impacts decision-making and patient care.
• Many new healthcare technologies are designed without sufficient input from frontline nurses who will actually be using them. This has resulted in systems that increase nurse frustration and workflow disruptions rather than improving efficiency and care.
• Nurse burnout and turnover is high, with 40% attributed directly to EHR systems. Ending nurse burnout must be a priority to address nursing shortages.
• Leaders without clinical backgrounds should try to engage with frontline nurses, such as rounding on units to observe workflows and get real-time feedback. This builds trust, surfaces pain points, and leads to better design of solutions.
• Nurses should advocate for leadership roles and board positions. They are the most trusted profession and know how to improve care delivery.
• Healthcare leaders need to start trusting and empowering nurses more to reimagine and transform our healthcare system for the better.