O’Brien Leads Tower 10AB to Shapiro 8

Since March, Alice O’Brien, MS, RN, has been leading the clinical nursing staff on Tower 10AB, a cardiac interventional unit which also includes medical patients. As a nurse manager who joined BWH from Cambridge Health Alliance and New England Medical Center, O’Brien took on the leadership of 62 nurses, 20 PCAs and unit coordinators of the 24-bed unit.

“It’s been very exciting, both starting in a new hospital and planning for such an exciting move to a new unit in the Shapiro Center,” O’Brien said. “The team on 10AB is professional and skilled, and they care so much for the patients and one another, they’ve made the transition very smooth.”

That transition includes preparing for this summer’s move to the eighth floor of Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Cardiovascular Center, which will be the patient care unit for vascular patients.

O’Brien is “committed to supporting her team as a visible leader” said Mary Lou Moore, MS, RN, CCRN, director of Cardiovascular Nursing at BWH. “Alice is highly organized and detail oriented, and she quickly has gained the respect of her staff and nursing colleagues throughout BWH,” Moore said.

O’Brien said she is dedicated to serving as a participatory manager and seeking staff input to ensure staff and patient satisfaction, and that’s what she’s done during nearly 30 years of nursing in a variety of roles including clinical nurse, supervisor, educator, case manager and nurse manager. She has a proven track record in leadership, clinical practice, professional development, strategic planning, management of the environment and resource management. O’Brien earned her master’s degree in Nursing Administration from UMass-Boston and her bachelor’s of science in Nursing from Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y.

Most recently, O’Brien served as the nurse manager of a 25-bed ICU and cardiac telemetry unit at the Whidden Campus of the Cambridge Health Alliance where she led a staff of 50 nurses and other care providers for three years. In addition, she also served as manager of the IV team. At New England Medical Center, now Tufts Medical Center, O’Brien held several positions during her 25 years there. She started as a clinical nurse in hematology/oncology and in a medical Intensive Care Unit. She also served as the program manager for Nursing orientation and unlicensed personnel and clinical resource manager for its cardiology service line before becoming nurse manager.

In addition, O’Brien has worked with nursing students as a part-time faculty member at Northeastern University. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau and the Massachusetts Organization of Nursing Executives.