Being a great nurse requires a different skill set than being a great leader, and 20 nurses gained valuable insights and resources to ease that transition through the first Foundations in Nursing Leadership course at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston this spring.

The two-day intensive course is the first offering from the Debbie Adams Leadership Academy and is taught twice a year, in the spring and fall. It is open to Cizik School of Nursing graduate students who are not currently studying in a leadership track as well as alumni and other nurses in the community.

Program’s benefactor, Deborah Garrett “Debbie” Adams, provided words of encouragement and shared her leadership journey during a special guest appearance at the first session in April. A 1984 graduate of Cizik School of Nursing, Adams served as an emergency department nurse for 15 years before transitioning into a business career. In 2022, she made the single largest gift from an alumna to the school to establish the leadership academy bearing her name.

Several formal, informal, and aspiring nurse leaders with UT Physicians joined the first cohort, along with colleagues from the Texas Medical Center and Houston-area health care organizations.

Adult/gerontology nurse practitioner Christina Luther, MSN, AGACNP-BC, works for UT Physicians in a neurological intensive care unit. She recently stepped up to a leadership role as an advanced practice provider coordinator, but she noted that nurse practitioners are looked to as leaders even if they don’t manage other people.

“Most of your patients and other nurses see you in a different light,” Luther said.

Ken Yu Ki Chan, MSN, ACNPC-AG, prides himself on clinical excellence but avoided leadership roles for much of his career. However, he saw an opportunity to effect positive change when he accepted the position of manager of clinical operations for the Interventional Cardiology and Structural Heart Program at UTHealth Houston in 2023.

“Management may not ultimately be for me, but I can pick up the leadership skills to lead in a different way,” said Chan, who enjoyed networking with other nursing leaders during the program. “It was very reassuring to hear from multiple people with experiences similar to mine.”

Opal Livelee, MBA-HA, BSN, CMSRN, a clinical nurse manager at a suburban hospital, also enjoyed sharing ideas with nurses in different specialties and at different stages of their careers. Livelee retired as a captain in the Army Nurse Corp. and frequently benefited from leadership training during her 12 years in the military.

“There’s not a lot of formalized training to be a leader in the civilian world,” said Livelee, who takes advantage of every learning opportunity she can.

For fellow veteran James P. Sonnier, BSN, RN, taking the course was all about learning “soft skills” after gaining plenty of leadership and health care experience in the Navy. The last few years of his service included an accelerated educational program that qualified him to provide patient care in the emergency department of a military hospital, where he was put in charge of “fast track” services for the non-life threatening issues.

The Foundations in Nursing Leadership course provided valuable perspectives on managing expectations and helping his employees through the successes and failures that everyone experiences, he added.

“I wanted to have a good foundation for transitioning to the civilian workplace, and this was a good bridge for that scenario,” Sonnier said.

Luther enjoyed learning about emotional intelligence and leadership styles from guest speakers. “I would recommend this course to all of our new-hire nurse practitioners, especially new graduates,” she said.

Register now for Fall 2025

Nurses with at least two years of experience may register by Sept. 14 for the Foundations in Nursing Leadership fall sessions. The course will be offered in person Thursday, Oct. 23, and Thursday, Nov. 13, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston, 6901 Bertner Ave., Houston, TX, 77030. Get all the details.