UNCP nursing professor Jennifer Wells selected for statewide leadership program

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Jennifer Wells, PhD, RN

Jennifer Wells, an associate professor in the Department of Nursing at UNC Pembroke, has been selected to participate in the North Carolina Nurses Association’s (NCNA) Leadership Academy.

The academy serves as a high-intensity, competitive application-based leadership development program for nurses to prepare them for positions of strategy and influence. Dr. Wells is the first UNCP faculty member to be selected to the academy.

“It is definitely an honor to be selected,” she said. “The selection process is highly competitive. They only accept 20 nurses each year, so I’m very honored to be selected.”

Wells will participate in a series of leadership workshops designed to empower to think outside the box while improving their skills as communicators and advocates in professional, civic and community arenas. She will be joined by emerging nurse leaders from across the state from diverse backgrounds, representing a cross-section of hospital administrators, nurse practitioners, certified registered rurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and nurse educators.

The program emphasizes educating, mentoring and grooming nurses to serve as active leaders in various positions, including government boards, hospital boards, commissions and elected office. Additionally, the academy will assist in sharpening participants’ skills so they will “exert a strong positive influence on the future of nursing and the health care industry.”

Wells has served in many leadership roles throughout her 17-year-career in the nursing department, including department chair. She was the first-ever director of the graduate program and currently serves as director of Program Outcomes.

“I’m hoping to gain expertise to improve effective communication and collaboration among all areas of the faculty. As we grow in the number of students, begin new programs and seek more clinical partnerships, this training will give me the insight into how to use leadership skills better to grow and expand the department.”