Nurse Executive Shelly Buck to Present for Women’s History Month
In observance of March as Women’s History Month, the VCU School of Nursing’s Cultural Action Committee is hosting alumna Shelly Buck, M.B.A, NEA-BC (B.S., ’96/N), Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow and vice-president, patient care services/chief nurse executive at Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center (SFMC) on Wednesday, March 26. Buck will present on the topic “The Journey from Nurse’s Aide to Hospital Executive: A Woman’s Perspective” at noon in room 1011.
As the chief nurse executive at Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center, Buck provides leadership, direction and consultation for nursing practice in all areas of the organization and leads improvement teams across the health system to realize the triple aim. Buck led the SFMC team to earn the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Pathway to Excellence designation, making it the first hospital in Virginia to receive this designation.
Buck started her career in health care while still in high school. As a junior, she sat for New Jersey’s state certified nursing assistant (CNA) examination, passed and became one of her high school’s first juniors to become a CNA. This sparked the beginning of her health care journey. Following graduation from nursing school, she began working as a registered nurse in an intermediate neuroscience ICU, and has gained clinical experience in critical care, neuro-trauma, med/surg, home health, and wound/ostomy/continence nursing. But the area of practice that called Buck to serve was administration and leadership. This has become a passion that has spanned over two decades.
Buck earned a diploma and associate’s degree in nursing from the Helene Fuld School of Nursing and Camden County College in New Jersey, a bachelor’s degree in nursing from VCU, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in nursing practice at Old Dominion University. She is currently certified as a nurse executive advanced (NEA), and has earned certifications throughout her career to include critical care registered nurse (CCRN), certified wound, ostomy, continence nurse (CWOCN), and certified neuroscience registered nurse (CNRN). Buck is also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow.
Buck is an active member in numerous national and local organizations, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), and Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives (VAONE). She sits on various boards and is currently chair of the ANCC’s Commission on Pathway to Excellence.
