The Answer is the USF School of Nursing, #3!

The new Chief Nurse for the United States Public Health Service is an alumna of which school of nursing?

That's right -- it's USF!

RADM Kerry Paige Nesseler was selected as the Chief Professional Officer for the Nurse Category effective 1 November 2009. As Chief Nurse Officer for the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), RADM Nesseler is responsible for providing leadership and coordination of the Public Health Service (PHS) nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). RADM Nesseler will provide guidance and advice to the Surgeon General, the Nurse Professional Advisory Committee (N-PAC), and the Nation’s nursing community on matters such as prevention, primary care, health systems development, recruitment, retention, readiness and career development of PHS nurses.

RADM Kerry Nesseler received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1978 from the University of San Francisco and her Master of Science degree in Nursing in 1985 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Maryland, School of Nursing. RADM Nesseler completed the Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellowship in 1996, graduated from the Excellence in Government Fellows Program in 2001, and was inducted as an Honorary Alumna in the National Health Service Corps in 2004. She has held appointments in academia as an adjunct professor and instructor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Kapiolani Community College.

RADM Nesseler’s nursing career reflects experience in varied positions, agencies, geographical locations, and types of health venues from service in hospitals, clinics, and community health to policy positions and academic posts. RADM Nesseler began her Commissioned Corps career in 1986 as a Maternal and Child Health Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation in Cloquet, Minnesota. In addition to her service for the Indian Health Service (IHS), she has held positions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and most recently at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). She began serving in HRSA as a project officer in the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Atlanta Regional Office and then in the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) at headquarters. In MCHB she was the Deputy Associate Administrator for Programs where she was instrumental in the development of the Title V Information System. In 2002, she was appointed as the first woman and first nurse to lead the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) as the Associate Administrator.

In this capacity she provided leadership for the education and training of the Nation’s primary care providers and managed the health professions workforce programs, including the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Program, the National Health Service Corps, and the Ready Responder Program. During her tenure as the Associate Administrator for BHPr, the national nursing education program funding was increased two fold and the Nurse Reinvestment Act was passed by Congress. RADM Nesseler has participated in the World Health Organization’s Global Advisory Group on Nursing and Midwifery for six years, representing the US, HHS, and HRSA. She has served on special assignments in Marshall Islands, Micronesia; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Libya; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Her deployment role assignment is Senior Health Official for national emergencies in Region IX and the Pacific Basin.

In 2006 she was appointed as the Director of the HRSA Office of International Health and Commissioned Corps Affairs. She serves as the principal advisor and consultant to the HRSA Administrator on international policies, health systems, and programs to increase the health status of the population worldwide. She also directs the agency’s policy development and implementation of Commissioned Corps initiatives.