Karen W. Gurganus
Williamston,NC
Summary
Dynamic nursing leader with extensive experience in rural healthcare, excelling in team leadership and relationship-building. Proven track record in enhancing patient care outcomes through continuous improvement initiatives and effective communication. With a recent return to bedside care after many years of leadership, I can offer an honest perspective on the current challenges nurses face in today's healthcare world. I foster collaboration and drive quality improvements across multidisciplinary teams.
Overview
1
1
Certification
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Staff Nurse IV
ECU Health Medical Center
Greenville, North Carolina
11.2025 - Current
- As a Staff Nurse IV, I have created positive, healing experiences for my patients and their families. I continue in leadership through Unit Council and Shared Governance, Nursing Environmental Council member, and I serve as Bloodborne Pathogens Champion, Safety Chair. I am also the Continued Readiness Representative for my unit to keep us always focused on being ready for The Joint Commission. I took this opportunity to reconnect with my love for patient care with a renewed understanding after being away from direct patient care for several years. I bring enthusiasm, positive energy, and smiles to the unit as I deliver safe patient care to our neighbors in eastern NC.
- Provided direct patient care, including wound care and medication administration.
- Provided emotional support to patients facing difficult diagnoses or treatments.
- Responded to emergency situations with speed, expertise and level-headed approaches to provide optimal care, support and life-saving interventions.
- Engaged in quality improvement initiatives that directly enhanced patient care outcomes.
- Counseled patients on lifestyle changes necessary for improved health outcomes.
- Developed and implemented new processes and standards to align with departmental objectives and improve in-patient care.
- Facilitated departmental meetings, training sessions, and educational seminars to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.
Experience Nurse Specialist II
ECU Health Corporate Office
11.2020 - 11.2025
- Working in the Office of Patient and Family Experience, I handle calls from patients and family members who want to share their compliments, concerns or grievances. After beginning the service recovery process, the complaints and grievances are forwarded to the appropriate unit leadership for resolution, frequently coordinating with Risk Management, Quality or Human Resources. Captured grievances using Origami reporting tools and ensured timely follow-up to meet state and federal regulations. Collaborated with leadership across ECU Health clinics and hospitals in eastern North Carolina, fostering professional relationships with unit leadership, division leaders, and administrators. Our goal in this position is to utilize our service recovery strategies to help constantly improve the experiences we create with the people we serve. We help bridge the gaps to ensure customer satisfaction. We also lead the Workplace Aggression movement for ECU Health. This involves ensuring that victims of workplace aggression are shown appropriate support by our organization. This vision has created close relationships between our team and the Employee Assistance Program, Human Resources, and both department leaders and division leaders throughout the organization. Maintained a database for accurate event capture and ensured follow-up with affected team members.
- Supported ECU Health Corporate Office nursing policy development and compliance review.
- Coordinated patient care plans with providers, case managers, and nursing teams.
- Reviewed clinical documentation in electronic health records for accuracy and completeness.
Asst. Nurse Manager -3 West Surgery
ECU Health Medical Center
09.2019 - 11.2020
- Completed payroll, resolved payroll issues, staffed the unit in a financially productive and safe manner, served as charge nurse in patient care, completed initial and annual evaluations of staff members, handled patient and family complaints, rounded on patients to verify they received optimal care and satisfaction, led daily progression of care rounds, performed narcotics audits, acted as a liaison between the manager and staff, contributed to multiple committees targeting improvements in quality and safety, held staff accountable. Organized and optimized staff schedules to ensure adequate coverage and efficient operations. Verified educational requirements met by team members and promoted growth for all team members.
- Assessed effectiveness of patient interventions to maintain quality care.
- Provided direct patient care by performing essential nursing tasks, including administering medications and monitoring vital signs.
- Managed budgets related to staffing costs, supplies expenditures.
- Collaborated with physicians and other staff to maintain continuity of care.
- Incorporated evidence-based nursing into the practice environment.
- Recruited, hired and evaluated staff to take corrective action and meet departmental goals.
- Provided leadership and direction to nursing staff, ensuring quality patient care.
- Worked closely with the Human Resources Department to recruit qualified nursing staff.
Director of Nursing Services
Martin General Hospital
03.2017 - 07.2019
- Reporting directly to CNO and CEO, I oversaw the daily operations of Intensive Care Unit, Medical/Surgical/Pediatrics, and Womens Health/L&D/Nursery with approximately 68 direct reports. General duties and accomplishments included dramatically lowering expense spending on supplies, scheduling staff and adjusting staffing levels as needed to economically, yet safely provide care to our patient load while maintaining acceptable productivity, develop action plans to reduce financial waste throughout each unit, and to maximize safety, quality and provide a better patient experience in the process. Reintroduced the role of LPN onto the Medical-Surgical and Pediatrics floor and developed a new nursing model for LPN/RN staffing, while also introducing an assignment-free, dedicated charge nurse on the med/surg floor. Managed Kronos payroll for each direct report, created monthly schedules, and coordinated holiday, vacation, and sick time for each employee. Conducted daily safety huddles in each unit, attended numerous meetings focused on budgeting and safe practices, delegated responsibilities to charge nurses and secretaries, and conducted audits for best practices, reporting results to CNO and CQO. Reduced and controlled inventory expenses by establishing par levels for supplies and managing order entry for each of the three units. Work to continuously improve interdisciplinary communications throughout the facility. Resolved patient complaints to enhance satisfaction, implementing service recovery strategies to address concerns effectively. Investigated best practices to keep care effective, safe and affordable. Identify problem areas in patient care, then develop and implement an action plan to tackle those issues. Stay up to date on current practice and opportunities for improvement throughout the organization. Give continuous feedback to employees on how to improve their patient interactions and care. Interview and decision to hire for applicants in the positions of RN, LPN, US and CNA positions to ensure adequate hiring practices were maintained and that the hospital is appropriately staffed. Resolved complex issues on a daily basis. Conducted research on best practices to continuously improve the care we provide for our patients. Meet with vendors to discuss next products and services on a continuous basis. Developed nursing committees to enhance engagement in addressing care challenges such as CAUTI, CLABSI, skin wounds, and patient satisfaction, and led bi-monthly meetings to drive improvements. Displayed knowledge of computer programs including electronic medical records, Microsoft Word and a growing, working knowledge of Microsoft Excel. Maintain 24-hour accountability for all three units.
- Directed nursing operations across inpatient units at Martin General Hospital.
- Supervised nurse staffing, scheduling, and daily patient care assignments.
- Coordinated compliance with hospital policies, safety standards, and infection control.
Director- Medical/Surgical/Pediatrics Unit
Martin General Hospital
09.2017 - 05.2018
- Directed daily operations for 24 staff, ensuring compliance through audits, scheduling, safety huddles, policy updates, action plans, staff education, and patient satisfaction initiatives while overseeing unit budget.
- Oversaw clinical and administrative hospital operations, maintaining standards and fostering collaboration across departments.
- Coordinated staff scheduling and daily workflow, ensuring compliance with hospital standards and regulations.
- Conducted monthly one-on-one MyRounding meetings with each employee to gather feedback.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Western Governors University
Salt Lake City, UT08-2017
Associate of Science - Nursing
Pitt Community College
Winterville, NC05-2010
Skills
- Electronic health records
- Patient assessment
- Quality assurance
- Continuous improvement
- Team leadership
- Team training and development
- Communication skills
Personal Information
Title: Staff Nurse IV
Certification
- Registered Nurse, NC, Multi-State 2010
- Board-Certified Med-Surg Registered Nurse, 2015
Accomplishments
- Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses, 2024
Affiliations
- Volunteer, ECU Health- CommUNITY Health Rural Care
- Joint Commission Readiness Liaison
- Eastern NC Nurse Honor Guard, Board of Directors member, Secretary
- Enriching Leaders Program (ELP) graduate 2024, ECU Health
- Shared Governance, ECU Health
- Nursing Environmental Council, ECU Health
Timeline
Staff Nurse IV
ECU Health Medical Center
11.2025 - Current
Experience Nurse Specialist II
ECU Health Corporate Office
11.2020 - 11.2025
Asst. Nurse Manager -3 West Surgery
ECU Health Medical Center
09.2019 - 11.2020
Director- Medical/Surgical/Pediatrics Unit
Martin General Hospital
09.2017 - 05.2018
Director of Nursing Services
Martin General Hospital
03.2017 - 07.2019
Bachelor of Science - Nursing
Western Governors University
Associate of Science - Nursing
Pitt Community College