As a young nurse, Janice Nissen learned about the vital role of compassionate care as she worked long nights in pediatrics at an Illinois hospital. Eager to help more patients in a new business venture, she took a role as a nurse clinician at Abbott Laboratories, helping patients across the country become comfortable at home using an IV and pump. When they felt empowered, she felt successful. Over the next decade, ever seeking to have a greater impact in healthcare, Janice worked in a variety of roles in sales leadership, operations and marketing for hospital products, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics. She was most energized when a role involved building a new business model.  One such example was building a business unit for established pharmaceutical brands, the other was her final role at Merck where she and her team created a Center of Excellence for Patient Engagement.“Life science companies were becoming increasingly interested in what the end-user thought about their products,” Janice said. “Do they want longer life or a better quality of life? With the Center of Excellence, we focused on many things, including the ways patients can inform clinical trial design, how products are packaged, are instructions for use easy, do we have a website that is designed for patients in health literate terms, and how can a pharmaceutical company best support the important work of patient organizations. This work involved working with patient organizations globally and the chance to see how healthcare is delivered in all parts of the globe.”

It was during her time at Merck that Janice was inspired to gain a greater understanding of the broader world of global health and population health. She first enrolled in the Population Health Academy at JCPH and loved it. She then decided to pursue the certificate program and then her Masters degree in Population Health.

“I loved it because it gave me the surround sound of what healthcare was all about,” Janice said. “Up to this point my experience was heavily focused on life science companies and their issues,  but I learned about broader policy issues that were impacting all of the stakeholders in healthcare. Ultimately the course work and interaction with other students focused on what each stakeholder in healthcare could do to create a better healthcare system.”

As a result of her JCPH education, Janice said she felt more equipped to apply a broader perspective on the healthcare environment to her work at Merck. However, she often thought about being in school at this point in her career! “I used to tell people that I was in school and would likely be on Medicare when I finished,” she said. “I actually finished before hitting Medicare, but I like to think it’s a testament that you are never too old to go back to school and further your education!”

Today, while technically “retired,” Janice is anything but! She is a member of the JCPH Alumni Board. She consults with the National Institutes of Health Foundation on how to evolve their patient engagement strategy. As a nurse Janice is also passionate about the role that nurses can play in the industry she worked in for most of her career, life sciences. So also she is working with a medical education company to raise awareness about a program for nurses who want to transition into the life sciences field. Finally, Janice has just joined the Helene Fuld College of Nursing as a trustee.