In this interview with Angelleen Peters Lewis, PhD, RN, FAAN, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, we learn three key pieces of advice to help nurses prepare for board membership:

1. Be confident.
2. Take risks.
3. Engage with colleagues and find mentors.

While there are many words of wisdom shared by Dr. Peters Lewis, my favorite has to be her statement that “The work of nursing happens in the moment but can have a lifetime impact.” Her dreams of giving nonjudgemental care stemmed from her own experiences as a young pregnant woman. The nurses she encountered cared not only for her physical needs, but also thought about her future and ensured coordination of care so her education would not be interrupted.

Listen to our full conversation here and also learn Dr. Peters Lewis insights on 2020 as the Year of the Nurse & Midwife!



Dr. Peters Lewis received her doctorate in nursing from Boston College, where she graduated with distinction and received the Dorothy A. Jones Award for Scholarship, Service and Development. She earned a master’s degree in nursing from Northeastern University and earned her bachelor’s in nursing from Simmons College in Boston. Dr. Peters Lewis’s postdoctoral work included an executive nurse fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the executive leadership development program at Harvard Business School.