PERSONAL EXPERIENCE MOTIVATED DR. JUDY MCLAUGHLIN TO DEDICATE HER CAREER TO CARING FOR OTHERS, AND AS STATEN ISLAND UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL’S NEWLY APPOINTED CHIEF NURSING OFFICER, THE 25-YEAR HEALTHCARE VETERAN DISCUSSES HER VISION FOR TRANSFORMING CARE THROUGH COMPASSION, COLLABORATION, AND COMMUNITY
BY AMANDA McCOY PHOTOS BY AMESSE PHOTOGRAPHY
When Judy McLaughlin, DNP, MS, RN, first interviewed with the executive leadership team of Staten Island University Hospital last year, she wasn’t actively searching for a new career opportunity. She had been with the Brooklyn Hospital Center for seven years, currently serving as senior vice president and chief nurse executive officer, but when a former colleague reached out, Dr. McLaughlin felt compelled to take the meeting.
“My mom was born and raised in Staten Island,” noted Dr. McLaughlin, whose mother passed away shortly after childbirth. “My mom’s passing was one of the primary motivating factors behind my decision to become a nurse, and it felt meaningful for me to come back to a community that meant so much to her.”
After her first meeting with the leaders of SIUH Dr. McLaughlin noted the encounter didn’t feel like a traditional interview, but a conversation the 25-year nursing veteran felt right at home, and she was appointed chief nursing officer in September of 2024. It was a homecoming of sorts, an opportunity to be a part of and serve the same community where her mother and husband’s family grew up. “God handed me this job,” added Dr. McLaughlin, “and every day I feel supported and cared for.”
Beyond her familial ties, Dr. McLaughlin brings a deep well of insight and expertise to her role as chief nursing officer, where she oversees the hospital’s vast network of 1,600 nurses across its two campuses. With more than two decades of healthcare experience in her scrubs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree (one of only three doctoral degrees in nursing), the seasoned clinician also has substantive leadership experience, lauded for her successes in improving clinical care and quality controls. Her initiatives at the Brooklyn Hospital Center resulted in higher patient experience ratings and lower infections, injuries, and falls (as measured by nurse sensitive indicators).
Compassion is a cornerstone of Dr. McLaughlin’s vision, both as a leader and nurse herself. Her personal experiences losing her mother at such a young age, then later losing her 94-year-old grandmother taught her the impact of practicing with empathy.
“At any reputable hospital, every patient should expect high quality of clinical care, but what they also need is empathy,” explained Dr. McLaughlin. “Sometimes, people can become desensitized to their daily work routines; that’s human nature. But if you remember that, for this specific patient, this is one of the scariest, most vulnerable days of their lives, then you’ll treat every patient with more compassion.”
Since SIUH is a community hospital located in a particularly close-knit borough, Dr. McLaughlin said the hospital’s nurses already operate with a strong baseline of empathy. (“Many of the patients are our relatives, colleagues, neighbors, friends, and friends of friends,” she said.)
To forward this initiative, Dr.
McLaughlin developed and implemented an empathy training course for orientation with newly onboarded nurses. The training is designed to provide tangible tools to enhance listening and communication skills, facilitate teamwork, help healthcare professionals identify and explore any innate personal biases, and ultimately offer a better patient experience.
McLaughlin developed and implemented an empathy training course for orientation with newly onboarded nurses. The training is designed to provide tangible tools to enhance listening and communication skills, facilitate teamwork, help healthcare professionals identify and explore any innate personal biases, and ultimately offer a better patient experience.
Dr. McLaughlin’s time in leadership has also taught her the value of teamwork. Her underlying vision for the future of nursing at SIUH is to continue building a department that everyone is “proud to be a part of,” and she knows that the combined strengths of many will always outweigh one. One of her early initiatives was to create specialized committees that focus on different aspects of nurse-sensitive indicators, which are specific quality measurements related to nursing care, such as infection rates, injuries, falls, and patient satisfaction.
“I believe in a divide-and-conquer culture,” said Dr. McLaughlin. “What I’ve seen in the past is every nurse leader attempting to oversee all these aspects. Now, each committee focuses on one particular area, lessening the burden and leading to better outcomes.”
Dr. McLaughlin also has ambitious long-term goals for the hospital, including a recently launched initiative to receive Magnet Recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), designated to healthcare organizations that demonstrate nursing excellence. It’s a rigorous, multi-year process, but the chief nursing officer noted she has the support and enthusiasm from both the hospital’s nursing and executive leadership teams to accomplish this goal.
“Nursing is a special profession,” added Dr. McLaughlin. “The nurse is the one who’s always there, who might notice small, nuanced changes in a patient’s mental status or vital signs. They are an integral part of the team as they spend the most time with the patient. Nurses care immensely to begin with, but I see it a little more here at SIUH. From my first meeting at the hospital, I could feel the warmth. There was a familiar element, which truly resonated with me.”
Staten Island University Hospital