Secretary/Treasurer Elect
Dana Bjarnason
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, OHSU Healthcare, Portland
Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs, OHSU School of Nursing, Portland
NWone Member: 2014
NWone Current Positions Held: CEO Search Committee
NWone Past Positions Held: None
AONE Member: Yes
Other Professional or Community Positions Held:
Current: Oregon Action Coalition, Sigma Theta Tau Treasurer, Beta Psi Chapter, Sigma Theta
Tau International Chair
Past: Sigma Theta Tau International Director at Large, Sigma Theta Tau, Apha Delta Chapter
Treasurer, American Nurses Association various positions, Texas Nurses Association various
positions
Publications published or presentations made:
Bjarnason, D. (2012) Nurse religiosity and end-of-life care. Journal of Research in Nursing 17(1).
Bjarnason, D., LaSala, C. A. (2011). Moral leadership in nursing. Journal of Radiology Nursing
30(1).
Bjarnason, D., (2010). Human response: Health promotion and healing before, during, and after
catastrophic events. In D. Bjarnason (Ed.), Critical Care Clinics of North America: Human
Response to Disaster: Health Promotion and Healing Following Catastrophic Events (pp. ix - xiii).
Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.
LaSala, C.A., Bjarnason, D. (2010). Creating workplace environments that support moral
courage. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 15, No. 3, Manuscript 4. DOI:
10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No03Man04.
Bjarnason, D. (2010). Nurse religiosity and end-of-life care. Journal of Research in Nursing. DOI:
10.1177/1744987110372046.
Presentations last five years:
2015, June. Transitioning Data to Support Unit Success. Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses
Society 47th Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX
2015, June. Ethical Challenges: Leading in Complex Organizations. 2015 American Nurses
Association Ethics Symposium, Baltimore, MD
2015, May. International Research Conference sponsored by Beta Psi, the OHSU chapter of
Sigma Theta Tau International. Panel member, Portland, OR
2015, April. Academic-Practice Partnerships Advance Clinical Inquiry. The Oregon Nursing
Research and Quality Consortium Presents Using Clinical Inquiry to Improve Patient Outcomes,
Oregon City, OR
(co-presentation with Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, FAAN)
2014, October. Health Care Policy and Ethics: Exploring Nurses’ Obligations and Actions. Nursing
Management Congress, Las Vegas, NV
2014, September. Forward Focused. Keynote speaker. Oregon Center for Nursing Forward
Focused 6th Annual Fundraising Breakfast. Portland, OR.
2013, September. When Only a Revolution Will Do: From Reactive Crisis Management to
Proactive Strategic Positioning. Nursing Management Congress2013, Chicago, IL.
2013, May. When Only a Revolution Will Do: From Reactive Crisis Management to Proactive
Strategic Planning. The Greater Houston Chapter of the Association of periOperative Registered
Nurses, Houston, TX
2013, April. Surfing the Ethics of Evidence-Based Practice. UTMB Health EBP National
Conference. Galveston, TX
2013, April. Creating a Culture of Patient Safety: Patient Safety Executive Rounds. Sigma Theta
Tau International Creating Healthy Work Environments, Indianapolis, IN
2013, March. Achieving Nursing Excellence through Proactive Strategic Positioning: A Dialogue.
National Healthcare CNO Summit, Atlanta, GA
2012, November. The Future of Nursing Report: How is Texas Responding to the
Recommendations? Houston Organization of Nurse Executives, Fall Forum, Houston, TX
2012, September. Lifelong Leadership: Revitalizing Your Role in the Clinical Setting. Sigma Theta
Tau International 2012 Leadership Forum, Indianapolis, IN
2012, September. Moral Leadership in Nursing. Nursing Management Congress2012, Nashville,
TN
2012, February. Moral Leadership. Houston Organization of Nurse Executives. Houston, TX
2012, January. Moral Leadership. Texas Nurses Association North Region, The Woodlands, TX
2011, September. The Nurse Executive Role in EMR Implementation. Epic 2011 User Group
Meeting. Verona, WI
2011, September. When Only a Revolution Will Do: From Reactive Crisis Management to
Proactive
Strategic Positioning. Connex Healthcare Executive Sector Meeting. Practical Strategies for
Improving
Patient Care, Increasing Operational Efficiency, Navigating Health Care Reform and Decreasing
Financial Risk and Overall Costs. Chicago, IL
2011, July. Effective Communication and Collaboration Enhance Respect in the Workplace.
Inaugural
ANCC Pathway to Excellence Conference, Austin, TX
2010, December. Moral Leadership. Texas Nurses Association District 6, Annual Professional
Nursing Association Collaborative Meeting, Galveston, TX
2010, October. Congruent Ideals: Healthcare Reform and Nursing Practice. Philippine Nurses
Association of Metropolitan Houston. New Trends in Nursing and Healthcare. Annual
Conference, Houston, TX
2010, October. Moral Leadership. Association for Radiologic and Imaging Nursing. 4th Annual
Symposium, Houston, TX
2010, September. Moral Leadership. Texas Nurses Association District 9, Membership Meeting,
Houston, TX
2010, August. Moral Leadership. Houston Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association,
Monthly Meeting, Houston, TX
2010, June. Moral Leadership. Gulf Coast Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association,
Monthly Membership Meeting, Houston, TX
2010, May. Moral Leadership. Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Association for Critical Care
Nursing,
Monthly Membership Meeting. Houston, TX
2010, April. Initiating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven Nursing Care. 17th Annual Case
Management
Conference and 11th Annual ACMA Meeting, San Antonio, TX
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing health care and nursing leadership in the
next three years, and what talents do you have that you feel can address these challenges?
Creating environments where safe high quality care is provided remains a top priority in the
United States. Despite small recent gains, preventable medical errors remain a leading cause of
death in our country. Inculcating a culture of safety in hospitals and healthcare systems has
been show to improve the safety and the quality of care as well as enhancing patient and staff
experience and engagement.
I have long been a champion of moral leadership in nursing and think that the principles and
values associated with “doing the right thing” in nursing are necessary to effect the changes we
wish to see. It is past time to take deliberate and decisive action and I believe that I have
demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities and have achieved outcomes that validate my
success in achieving organizational safety culture.
As you see healthcare changing, how does the nursing role need to evolve or adapt? How
would you help to position the future role of nursing, and nursing leadership for our success
in the future?
I fully support the tenets of the Institute of Medicine Future of Nursing report, particularly the
ideal that nurses should practice to the full scope of their practice. Achieving this end would
mark a significant national achievement. Additionally, the impact of advanced nursing
education at the baccalaureate, master and doctoral level will be critical to meeting the health
needs of the population through preparing nurses with the appropriate knowledge, skills and
abilities. Clearly the increasing criticality of the acute care patient and the growing acuity of
ambulatory care mark significant changes that will increase not only the need for new models
of care, but also on care transitions and care coordination. Lastly, focusing on disease
prevention and population health will require that nursing return to it community-based roots.
I believe that I can help to position nursing for success through working with nurse leaders from
across our domain (direct care, educators, executives, etc) as well as the domains of our
partners (medicine, community, etc) as we develop innovative and collaborative approaches to
care delivery.
How can NWone improve the “power of the collective” between Washington and Oregon to
strengthen our organization going forward?
I have always been a believer in Aristotle’s observation that the whole is greater than the sum
of its parts. I love the Nike advertisement for the women’s soccer team “strong alone,
unstoppable together”. Nurses across the country (and around the globe) must come together
to realize and to help our communities understand and utilize nursing’s unique abilities to
positively change the health of our nation and our world. I have seen this work through my
lobbying activities with the Texas Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association.
With over 3.2 million nurses in the United States and over 30,000 in Oregon, we must seize our
power, people will listen because of our expertise and our numbers. Together we can achieve
our goals in establishing and realizing global health outcomes.