Sacramento Nurse Combines MBA With Health Care Administration

Patty Armond, senior director of perioperative services at Mercy General Hospital of Dignity Health in Sacramento, is currently pursuing her MBA at Grand Canyon University but stills plans on continuing her career in nursing. She obtained her Bachelors of Nursing from the University of South Alabama and worked in the intensive care unit for a number of years before switching to perioperative.

Armond first took over as director of one operating room and then advanced to supervising eight units. When she was promoted to senior director, Armond wanted to expand her skill sets and grow in her current position. "In perioperative services, the service lines are centered around the development of business," she explained. "We offer a full continuum of services in periop including pre anesthesia, preop, operating rooms, post anesthesia, sterile processing and all GI labs. These services are built to the needs of our patients and physicians. As senior director, I am responsible for the overall structure of these departments as well as the strategic plans, quality, goals and plan for growth. Much of what I do is around development and implementation of budgets, policies and planning. In contrast to other directors' positions in the hospital, business is what we do."

However, she plans to remain in the nursing profession. "I have always been drawn to nursing because I wanted to make a difference in other people's lives," she said. "Nursing is not a career, it is a calling. There are amazing rewards in nursing and many sad times, but I can say with certainty that I love nursing and that I would never do anything else."

As for pursing a higher education, Armond stated, "It is vital as nurses to advance ourselves. Many people in nursing do obtain their master's degree in nursing. I think it is important, especially as you get older, if you want to teach or become a clinical nurse specialist. It is necessary to have those advanced degrees in order to achieve your goals in nursing."

Debbie Hall is practically a Las Vegas native (34 years and counting) and loves experiencing everything in Southern Nevada from the Las Vegas Strip to the surrounding mountains and Lake Mead. She also teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and loves sharing her knowledge. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.