Her Story
About Cheryl
Cheryl Reilly is an academic and healthcare professional specializing in nursing informatics. She began her work in the field in 2002, developing courses in informatics at UMass Amherst and teaching some informatics courses at the University of Connecticut. She has taught Nursing Informatics at Walden University for 14 years, where she engages students through online discussions and assignments focused on applying information technology systems to clinicians and patients to enhance the quality and safety of patient care. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Boston College, a master's degree from the University of California San Francisco around 1987 with a dual major in nursing and administration, informatics courses at Stanford, and doctoral studies at UMass Amherst. As a PhD student, she was a pre-doctoral fellow in health professions and received an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Dissertation Award. She later became a nursing informatics Fellow at Mass General Brigham and worked as a corporate manager in the clinical research and design group, leading prototype design for systems such as the patient portal at Partners Healthcare. She attributes her success to overcoming a disadvantaged background by following her dreams and not letting others define her path, and she admires innovation and pioneering work in the field.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cheryl
01What do you attribute your success to?
I came from a disadvantaged background... one of the things that I learned from that meeting is not to let other people define who I am. So I put myself through Boston College... I really feel like people should follow their dreams and not let other people tell them what they should or shouldn't do... I admire people who are innovators and pioneers... innovation and making ideas come to life, and not really letting people or other barriers get in your way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think to work hard, and follow your dreams, and have people around you that will help you support your passions in life, and be around people that can make things happen.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's a really exciting time to be in informatics. I think we're in a digital era in healthcare, and there's so many things that nurses and other women can contribute to in terms of using technology to improve health and wellness and to manage chronic diseases... the field is exploding with new ideas and new systems... technology will actually improve health of the nation in the long run... there's a lot of opportunity to improve a broken system.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think AI is both an opportunity and a challenge. So, I think AI can do great things, but you also have to make sure that the output that, especially in healthcare, is accurate and true... it's challenging for academic missions because a lot of students have used generated AI tools, and there's some issues with false references... it's really a challenge for educators to be able to use the benefits of AI, which there's a lot, but also be mindful of some of the drawbacks that AI brings forth.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I came from a disadvantaged background... not to let other people define who I am... follow their dreams and not let other people tell them what they should or shouldn't do... I really admire people who are innovators and pioneers... innovation and making ideas come to life, and not really letting people or other barriers get in your way.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.