Empowerment Through Innovations: Reimagining the Future of Nursing at Duke Health

Empowerment Through Innovations: Reimagining the Future of Nursing at Duke Health

From Leader to Leader by Healthcare IT Leaders

July 16, 2025 · 25 min · Season 3 · Episode 6

About this episode

Dr. Terry McDonnell discusses how Duke Health is addressing nursing workforce challenges and empowering staff through innovative initiatives.

The pandemic has fundamentally reshaped the nursing workforce, creating both challenges and opportunities to reimagine care delivery. In this episode, Dr. Terry McDonnell , Chief Nursing Executive and Senior Vice President at Duke University Health System, discusses how Duke Health is addressing turnover in nursing, empowering frontline staff through innovation initiatives, and building robust career pipelines as early as eighth grade.  With a goal of building a sustainable, future-focused nursing workforce, Dr. McDonnell offers valuable insights into creating technology-enhanced innovation units, leveraging AI and ambient technology to transform documentation, and adapting care models for the next generation of patients. Learn more about Healthcare IT Leaders . In this episode, you’ll learn: How Duke Health is addressing the post-pandemic nursing challenge with empowerment initiatives that reduced turnover by 10% The role of AI and technology in building the care environments of the future Why Dr. McDonnell believes the future of nursing will be hybrid, creating a need for nurses skilled in both direct and virtual patient care Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Introducing…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Terry McDonnell

Topics covered

  • nursing workforce
  • care delivery
  • empowerment initiatives
  • AI in healthcare
  • nurse turnover
  • future of nursing

Keywords

  • nursing
  • healthcare
  • AI
  • turnover
  • innovation
  • care models
  • technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Duke University Health System, Duke Health

Places: Duke

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