Questions & Answers with Inova Loudoun’s Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Marissa Jamarik

Nurse Extraordinaire

Q&A with the CNO (Chief Nursing Officer) of Inova Loudoun Hospital, Marissa Jamarik

In July 2017, Marissa Jamarik, DNP, RN, NEA-BC was named Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) at Inova Loudoun Hospital. She succeeds longtime CNO Lisa Dugan, PhD, who passed away in May. Jamarik has over 28 years of nursing experience, with 21 of those in leadership roles.

What has been your top priority in your first few months as CNO?

A good lesson I learned over the years is to take time to learn the work before doing the work. While I have been a Senior Director for many years and there are some areas of the hospital I am very familiar with, there are others that I have not yet had the privilege to know. So, I have been spending time in these areas with the team — learning who they are, what they do, how they work and what their challenges are.

What did you learn from Lisa Dugan?

Lisa taught me to have leadership courage. My first official CNO task was to be interviewed for our trauma survey. Honestly, I walked into the room and wavered — but only for a minute. I had placed one of Lisa’s nursing stars on my badge — I simply reached up and touched it, took a deep breath, put my shoulders back, remembered all that she had taught me and took charge. Somehow the words found their way out of my mouth.

What’s your vision for nurses at Inova?

We must stay on course, continue to be innovative, and lead the practice for exceptional patient care and experience. For a community hospital of our size, it is amazing how much evidence-based practice we lead. That’s what affords nurses engagement and investment in their work.

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