12 Years of Transformative Change
by Susan Neale
Dean Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk reflects on 12 years leading the College of Nursing
The Ohio State University College of Nursing has seen transformational change under Dean Melnyk’s leadership since 2011. We have seen our U.S. News & World Report rankings, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and international recognition soar. We have tripled our faculty and staff, doubled enrollment and quadrupled our budget. We have launched new centers of excellence and built a new home. Now Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, is transitioning out of her role as dean of the College of Nursing to focus on her roles as The Ohio State University vice president for health promotion and chief wellness officer.
“I’m not retiring! I’m re-firing,” Melnyk said in an interview in January, excited that this change will give her more time to devote to her mission of improving population wellness throughout the university.
“I feel very blessed to have led this college for 12 years. And I feel blessed that we have accomplished so many of our dreams – most of our dreams, really.”
She paused to reflect. “The best time as a leader to pass the baton is in a position of strength, and we certainly are in that position. We really have been able to move the college ahead in a great, impactful way – in academic rankings, NIH research funding, evidence-based practice, wellness, enrollment, new endowments, scholarships, innovation and national awards for our college and faculty.”
Passion projects with impact
The College of Nursing has grown tremendously during Melnyk’s tenure as dean. When she arrived in 2011, there were 1,100 students and about 130 faculty and staff; now there are nearly 2,300 students and 350 faculty and staff. While this growth and the college’s many new centers and innovations are impressive, “We’ve been able to create the culture, the environment and the infrastructure in which our faculty, staff and students could really thrive, innovate and soar in their own careers. To see the number of faculty who have been inducted into prestigious academies, who have been able to make an outstanding impact to transform health and improve lives because of the investments that have been made in them, that brings me such great satisfaction.”
One of the first dreams Melnyk and her team tackled was the creation of Total Health and Wellness at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center East Hospital, the college’s expanding nurse practitioner-led, interprofessional clinic and Federally Qualified Health Center.
“The interprofessional piece is really important to me,” Melnyk said. “When I came here, we had no formalized structure for interprofessional health sciences practice.” Melnyk corralled the other health science deans and started a collaborative group that she chaired for several years. This kind of behind-the-scenes legwork to get changes she wants in motion became a hallmark of her leadership.
“What I take a lot of pride in is that we’ve been able to create the culture, the environment and the infrastructure in which our faculty, staff and students could really thrive, innovate and soar in their own careers.”
Melnyk is proud of the endowments she and her team attracted, such as those for the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare and the Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth, both of which are endowed in perpetuity. Fundraising on this level takes dedication, time and a great deal of persistence. “It took me 10 years going to New York City and pitching a dream to the trustee at the Fuld to get this $6.5 million gift (the largest gift in the college’s history),” she said. That dedication extended to student support, as well. During her tenure, the college has raised $16 million dollars for student scholarships, benefiting more than 1,500 students. Three new endowed professorships were funded. Planned gifts for the future include an endowed chair and $2 million for PhD students.
As a national and global leader in evidence-based practice since the late 1990s, Melnyk brought evidence-based programs to Ohio State that are now used by the Fuld National Institute for EBP to work with hundreds of healthcare systems, hospitals and academic institutions throughout the world. The Fuld Institute also is the first organization to offer a certification in evidence-based practice and a designation of excellence for healthcare systems, long-time dreams for Melnyk and institute senior director Lynn Gallagher-Ford, PhD, RN, DPFNAP, NE-BC, FAAN.
Melnyk’s passion for collaboration, prevention, wellness, cardiovascular health and mental health has resulted in many new, innovative programs. Through her influence, Ohio State was the first university to partner with Million Hearts®, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) national heart attack and stroke prevention initiative. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) awarded the College of Nursing its national innovations award for the Million Hearts Fellowship program that Melnyk and Kate Gawlik, DNP, RN, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, created. The program now has over 180 colleges and professional organizations participating throughout the country, and by this summer 100,000 people will have been screened for heart disease throughout the nation, with a third referred for abnormal findings. Melnyk also served as vice-chair of the board of directors of the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention through March 2023.
Character builders
Preferring to see problems as “character-builders,” Melnyk laughs heartily when asked if she’s faced any as dean. “When you’re a pioneer and a mover and shaker, you have to expect character builders,” she said, “and I tend to think and dream very big and bold.
“One of the things I’ve always had to overcome in my career is people saying, ‘I can’t see that ever happening. How is that ever going to come to fruition?’” The glass-walled dean’s office in Jane E. Heminger Hall where she spoke, with its standing conference table and sweeping views of Neil Avenue, is one of many such impossible projects Melnyk has been able to realize.
“My dream for better space for this college began the minute I first walked into Newton Hall. It took seven years of persistence and saving millions of dollars so that I could make a strong pitch to the university to match us in capital funding from the state,” Melnyk said. The building campaign goal of $4.5 million was surpassed in December 2020 and eventually totaled $7.85 million. Thanks to our generous donors, Melnyk pointed out with gratitude, Jane E. Heminger Hall opened on schedule, debt-free.
Persisting through COVID-19
COVID-19 represented both the greatest of challenges and the greatest calling to care in the college’s history. The College of Nursing leapt to address the need for vaccinations, online classes and new mental health initiatives. “As soon as the pandemic struck, my feeling was: I have to lead our college and our university through this in a well way,” she said. Melnyk served on the university’s task force that made key decisions about COVID-19 screenings and procedures. As Chief Wellness Officer, she said, “We provided more programs and did surveys so we could keep a pulse on how people were doing, mentally and physically. Everything had to be super-sized.”
Even before the pandemic, Melnyk was a passionate advocate for prevention of clinician burnout, serving on the National Academy of Medicine’s action collaborative on clinician well-being and resilience and helping to create the national biennial Summit on Promoting Well-being and Resilience in Healthcare Professionals. Then the pandemic raised clinician burnout to a new level around the world – and close to home.
“There was one point during that journey that I felt that I was getting burned out, really. I decided that I had to figure out a way to still do things that brought joy to my life.” Melnyk was grateful that she could confide in her husband, John, during that stressful time. Together, they planned a future vacation: a safari trip to Africa to watch wildebeests migrate. That trip (just completed last fall) gave her something to look forward to and a chance to rest and recover, something all leaders
need to do.
Staying active in her field
As Chief Wellness Officer, Melnyk has brought national visibility and recognition for wellness to Ohio State, including an in-depth 2019 case study as an exemplar for wellness by the National Academy of Medicine, a C. Everett Koop Award honorable mention for the breadth and effectiveness of its health and wellness initiatives and an Exercise is Medicine gold award.
Melnyk also finds joy in doing research that benefits others and improves their lives. “You’ve got to stay connected as a leader to what you’re really passionate about, because if you don’t make time for your own passion, it’s going to drain your energy and you’re not going to be as good for the organization and your people,” she said. Throughout her career as dean, Melnyk has kept her NIH-funded research going. Her current research includes finishing her currently funded NIH-R01 grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities that is testing her cognitive-behavioral skills building program with depressed and anxious pregnant underrepresented women. She is also leading a collaborative project with the American Nurses Association and the University of California San Diego funded by a $1.5 million grant from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to digitalize her mental health program and determine whether combining it with a suicide screen that connects people anonymously with a mental health counselor is more effective than the suicide screen alone.
A big proponent of “vitamin G” (gratitude), she feels so grateful for her outstanding leadership teams and fortunate for the opportunity now to focus more energy on propelling the university’s population health and well-being to higher levels. “I want everyone here at Ohio State to say, ‘I’m so excited to go to Buckeye Nation today!’ That’s the kind of culture I want to continue – this wellness and caring culture; a culture where people feel cared about and one in which everyone can achieve their optimal state of health and well-being.”
This work will benefit her, too, she graciously pointed out. “If you stay aligned with your dreams and your passions, you won’t ever feel like you work a day in your life – and isn’t that a blessing?”
The 3 Ds to career success
“People so often get stuck in the weeds, and that kills initiatives. People have got to keep the dream in front of them, which is why I always ask our faculty, staff, students and alums, ‘What will you do in the next 3 to 5 years if you know you cannot fail?’ And they have to not be afraid to take risks – that’s what the ‘discover’ is all about. Then to persist through those character-builders – there will always be character-building times! You’ve got to learn to just stay on the path and keep failing forward, staying focused on the dream.”
In this Issue
Timeline of Transformational Change
- September 2011
Bernadette Melnyk becomes dean, university’s first vice president for health promotion and chief wellness officer - February 2012
First national university-wide partner of Million Hearts® campaign - Spring 2012
Center for Transdisciplinary Evidence-based Practice launched - January 2013
Total Health and Wellness, the first nurse practitioner-led clinic by the college opens at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center East Hospital with a $1.5 million, three-year HRSA grant - January 2013
First class of university-wide Buckeye Wellness Innovators - Spring 2013
Center of Excellence in Critical and Complex Care, Center for Research and Transdisciplinary Scholarship and Center for Women, Children and Youth founded - Spring 2013
National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities (BHAC) founded; Ohio State hosts first BHAC National Summit - Fall 2014
Launched online interdisciplinary Master of Applied Clinical and Preclinical Research degree (now known as the Master of Clinical Research) - Fall 2014
Non-nursing undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Health and Wellness Innovation in Healthcare program established - Spring 2015
U.S. News & World Report ranks online master’s degree 6th in the nation; traditional master’s program jumped 10 spots to land at 22nd (top 5% in country); online bachelor’s (including RN to BSN) ranked 8th - 2015
Melnyk’s Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice recognized as Book of the Year for 2015 by the American Journal of Nursing - April 20, 2016
$6.5 million gift establishes the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare - October 2016
College receives first of seven consecutive (and counting) Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Awards from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine - March 2017
Innovation Studio launched to encourage interprofessional healthcare innovation - 2017
Master of Healthcare Innovation program launched - October 2017
Inaugural Helene Fuld Health Trust National Summit on Transforming Healthcare Through Evidence-based Practice - April 2018
The Pitzer family pledges $3 million establishing the Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth - September 2018
Inaugural biennial National Summit on Promoting Well-being and Resilience in Healthcare Professionals - February 2019
College ranks #13 overall (#6 public) in NIH funding support, up from #31 in 2017 - Spring 2019
POP (Pet Owner and Pet) Care grant-supported program launched in collaboration with the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Social Work, bringing well care to homebound adults and their pets - Fall 2019
“Wellness Checklist for Incoming College Students” created; significant national media coverage - September 2019
Total Health and Wellness Center at Ohio State East Hospital awarded “Federally Qualified Health Center” status - Fall 2020
Melnyk appointed Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice - April 2020
First “Staying Calm and Well in the Midst of the COVID-19 Storm” webinar series - November 2020
University and college receive Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant for student mental health initiatives - January 2021
College of Nursing supports Wexner Medical Center’s “Shots at The Schott” Initiative assisting the dissemination of thousands of COVID-19 vaccinations at the Schottenstein Center - Spring 2021
Center for Healthcare Innovation and Leadership established - July 2021
DNP Postdoctoral Fellowship program launched by Fuld National Institute for EBP - November 2021
College wins AACN Innovations in Professional Nursing Award for Telehealth Wellness Hub and Wellness Partner Program - January 2022
U.S. News & World Report ranks college’s online master’s #1 in the nation - May 2022
“Pandemic parenting: Examining the epidemic of working parental burnout and strategies to help,” report issued by college/OCWO and featured on NBC’s “Today Show,” The New York Times, CBS News Radio and USA Today - May 2022
EBP-C, the first credential for EBP, offered by The Fuld National Institute for EBP - May 2022
College receives collaborative grant with College of Engineering from American Nurses Foundation’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative to incorporate extended reality into the classroom - August 2022
Jane E. Heminger Hall opens - October 2022
College wins AACN Innovations in Professional Nursing Award for Million Hearts® Fellowship program - November 2022
Melnyk elected vice-chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention; served through March 2023 - November 2022
Reached $40 million goal for Time and Change Campaign (exceeded goal by $5 million as of April 2023) - January 2023
Nation’s first Doctor of Nursing Education (DNE) degree launched - January 2023
Center for Well-being and Prevention established - February 2023
Ohio Caregiver Center for Dementia Care launched in partnership with Ohio Department of Aging
“I have had the privilege to know, work and be inspired by Bern for decades. She has the energy of a nuclear reactor, a heart of passion and compassion, the integrity of a saint and selfless leadership that has improved every endeavor she has been associated with. Her contributions to nursing, mental health and academics were and are transformational … and now, as she focuses her immense intellect and energy on wellness, I anticipate that a Buckeye wellness revolution is in the making.”
Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS
17th Surgeon General of the United States
“Bernadette Melnyk has been a core participant in the NAM Clinician Well-Being Collaborative since we began in 2017. At that time, the collaborative led a call for the creation of clinician well-being officer (CWO) positions across the country. With the expertise of Bern and others, we can now point to the proliferation of CWOs in healthcare organizations as examples of the success of this movement. The collaborative has benefited from the viewpoint that Bern brings as a nurse leader, and her consistency in underscoring the need for interprofessional dedication to advancing clinician well-being.”
Victor Dzau, MD
President, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
“Dean Bernadette Melnyk’s leadership at the College of Nursing has been an inspiring example for the faculty, staff and students who are dedicated to the future of healthcare and who support the health and well-being of communities throughout Ohio, across the nation and around the globe. Her passion and enthusiastic spirit are infectious, and I deeply appreciate Bern’s 12 years of service to the college and Ohio State. I am delighted that she will continue to inspire our university community to lead with gratitude.”
Melissa L. Gilliam, MD, MPH
Provost, The Ohio State University
“Bernadette Melnyk is an extraordinary leader whose trailblazing innovations in the profession of nursing will have lasting impact for generations to come. Her work spans groundbreaking research initiatives, professional standard setting for evidence-based practice, sustaining influence through hundreds of peer-reviewed publications and visionary leadership impacting university, organizational and federal health systems … she is a rare treasure in gifting us with the hope that professional success amplified by personal appeal with inspirational vision casting can truly change the world for the better.”
Jessica L. Peck, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CNL, FAANP, FAAN
Past President, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
“Dr. Melnyk’s North Star is the promotion of health, which has guided her leadership, practice, research and teaching. She has advanced evidence-based practice through development and testing of new EBP models, innovations in care to improve patient outcomes, and education of nurses across levels of education. Her work to understand and improve nurse health and well-being has informed policy, clinical and academic settings – mapping a path with data to improve nurse health for individuals, organizations and communities ... She is blazing the path toward healthy nurses and nursing practice that delivers the best care possible.”
Robin P. Newhouse, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Dean, Indiana University School of Nursing
“As a proud alum of the College of Nursing, I have seen the impact that Bern has had globally with her leadership in evidence-based practice (EBP) … Through her leadership with the journal [Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing] and the generosity of her time in promoting EBP in conferences and educational sessions, she has made EBP an important scholarly approach for implementing change … Research, undoubtedly important for nursing science, requires integration and implementation to actually change practice, policy and education. Bern has led the way in this for many years and her impact will be felt globally for years to come. Job well done, Bern!”
Liz Madigan, PhD, RN
Chief Executive Officer, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
“As dean of the Ohio State College of Nursing, Dr. Bernadette Melnyk has pioneered initiatives demonstrating nursing leadership in cardiovascular care and disease prevention … Dr. Melnyk has also paved the way to examining the impact stress can have on cardiovascular disease and the importance of routinely identifying and treating stress ... I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work side by side with such an inspirational and action-generating leader. As Ohio State’s chief wellness officer, Dr. Melnyk will continue to inspire future generations of public health and healthcare professionals, academicians, educators and community members across the country to improve cardiovascular health. We appreciate her extraordinary commitment to cardiovascular care and her leadership on this critical public health challenge.”
Janet S. Wright, MD, FACC
Director, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
“I can truly say that I have worked with few individuals who have had a greater impact on an institution and done so as quickly as Bern Melnyk. The minute I met Bern when we were recruiting her from Arizona State, I knew that not only would she be a great addition to The Ohio State University but that she would be a great addition to the state and become a national treasure as she moved a wellness agenda forward … I also have high hopes that she will continue to hold high her commitment to creating a wellness strategy for our nation.”
E. Gordon Gee, JD, EdD
President, West Virginia University
“Dean Bern is synonymous with The Ohio State University College of Nursing in our minds. In 12 short years, she raised the college to national rankings in every metric that is important to alumni, faculty and students: research funding levels, publications, faculty honors, student achievements and don’t forget the amount of funds raised to secure a badly needed new building (Jane E. Heminger Hall). We are so proud of Bern and her accomplishments in making the college the wonderful learning environment that it has become.”
Kathy Peppe, RN, MS, FAAN (’69, ’71 MS)
“Dean Melnyk is a transformational, internationally recognized nursing leader who leaves a rich legacy of contributions across practice, education and research. From her early years in clinical practice to her vast leadership roles in nursing education, groundbreaking research studies and service on federal healthcare bodies, including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, she has been a champion for health. As the first chief wellness officer at a U.S. university, she was a pioneer in elevating the critical importance of wellness in institutions of higher education. Her contributions to nursing include leadership in the American Nurses Association’s Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation initiative and its Strength Through Resiliency Committee, groundbreaking work to develop and disseminate mental health resources for nurses, including those for suicide prevention.”
Loressa Cole, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
CEO, ANA Enterprise
“With captivating passion, from her evidenced-based pulpit, her leadership has forged innovations in healthcare that strive beyond absence of illness, for a life of wholeness. Bern’s brilliant articulation challenged us to re-think embedded practices and conventions, and to embrace ideas as fresh as the recipes included in her coveted Christmas holidays gift containers. As a visionary and professional colleague, I sincerely admire, am even awed, by her creativity and fierce boldness. The scope of her generous spirit and change-making leadership has created a legacy obligation for compassionate service, for which the world owes her enduring gratitude. Thank you, Bern, and Godspeed!”
Faye Wattleton, MS (’64)
Former president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
“Her passion to create better healthcare, driven by a personal experience, has resulted in a focus on healthy lives and addressing mental health issues … Bern has always led the way to embrace the challenge and create change through dreaming and discovery. She is a consummate leader for our time, and I know though in a different role her leadership will continue. Thank you, Bern, for all you have done to move health for all and the nursing profession forward.”
Laurie Badzek, LLM, JD, MS, RN, FNAP, FAAN
Dean and Professor, Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
“The Ohio State University has been privileged to have Professor Melnyk leading the nation in promoting excellence in evidence-based practice (EBP) through the College of Nursing and the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for EBP. Her groundbreaking work is a role model for other institutions and across all disciplines. She has also been an active contributor to the work of AcademyHealth, from which we have greatly benefited.”
Lisa Simpson, MB, BCh, MPH, FAAP
President and CEO, AcademyHealth
“As one who leads by example, Dr. Melnyk inspires nurses, other clinicians and public health practitioners to serve their patients and communities. She brought the same passion and vision to her role as vice chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention, motivating the board, staff and members to improve cardiovascular wellness and health equity throughout the country.”
John M. Clymer
Executive Director, National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention
