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Senior vice president for hospital operations and chief nursing officer, VHC Health, Arlington County
Senior vice president for hospital operations and chief nursing officer, VHC Health, Arlington County
Virginia Business// June 27, 2024//
In December, Melody Dickerson added a new set of letters after her name: DNP, or Doctor of Nursing Practice. More than one person wondered aloud: “Why on earth did you go back and get your doctorate now?”
The reality was Dickerson had contemplated going back to school for years, but the pandemic gave her the extra push she needed to enroll in Baylor University’s Executive Nurse Leadership Program.
“I was hungry for information I could use to improve myself as a leader,” Dickerson says. Furthering her education was also an opportunity to set an example for her team of care-
givers, whom she has urged to do the same. “I needed to put my effort where my words were.”
Dickerson’s nontraditional career path has given her a unique perspective that informs the toolkit she deploys while leading more than two-thirds of VHC Health employees across various departments. In her first 90 days as chief nursing officer, she sought to address retention rates, particularly among nurses, by setting the expectation that people could grow their careers within VHC. The strategy worked; recruitment and retention rates have increased significantly under Dickerson’s leadership.
She’s also “really proud” of efforts she’s helped lead to increase access to care, including the 2023 opening of a new outpatient pavilion in Arlington. “This organization aligns so well with my personal values and beliefs,” Dickerson says. “I love going to work every day. It sounds cliche, but it’s really the truth.”
