Dana Caviness, MBA, CPXP

I owe everything to my two parents whom I just adore. They raised me in such a way that failure wasn't an option, not succeeding wasn't an option. It never meant that I had to be perfect at anything, but I was never allowed to quit halfway through something. For example, if I started something like dance at the beginning of the year, I was not allowed to quit halfway through if I decided I didn't like it. I didn't have to do it the next year, but I had to finish out my commitment that year. What it instilled in me is my actions are not limited to just me - there are other people depending on me and depending on what I say I'm going to do, and it's not okay to break that commitment just because I decide I don't like something or I don't feel like doing it. That simple strategy that my mom and dad had has made me who I am today. I'll also say I have been very blessed to have two amazing mentors, one when I was very young in my career and one most recently, that have also just been tremendous voices of wisdom in a way I don't have yet. And then the other thing that really positioned me uniquely has been my cancer journey. I have learned things that I would have never learned in a boardroom or in any of our strategy or executive meetings that uniquely equip me to be a voice and to be able to set the system strategy and priorities around experience.

The best career advice I've received is that there's never a reason to think that you're stuck. There's always opportunities that exist if you're willing to look for them. The messages that my mentors have imparted on me is, when you're having great days in your career, cherish them, enjoy them, and seize them. When you're having not-so-good days in your career, learn from them, figure out why, try to make it better. And then when you're having moments in your career and you're finding yourself questioning many days in a row, many things in a row that maybe don't feel right, that it's never too late to change course. It's never too late to go back to school and get a different degree. It's never too late to explore, because ultimately, if you're doing your heart's work and your passion about what you do, that's going to benefit you and the world the most. That's why everybody's placed on this earth, right? You want to find the best in you and give it to people, and that might change at different points in your career, and that's okay. It's just paying attention to it.

Don’t limit yourself to traditional roles like doctor or nurse—healthcare offers a wide range of career paths, and starting in an entry-level position can open doors to meaningful, long-term opportunities.

One of the biggest challenges in healthcare is that patient experience is still sometimes undervalued as a core strategic and operational priority. At the same time, growing patient expectations and advances in technology create an opportunity for health systems to embed experience into their strategy, build competitive advantage, and strengthen workforce pipelines through development initiatives and school partnerships.

There are several values, but a couple that really always spring to the top. One is integrity. I am a firm believer that if I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it. If I make an agreement with somebody, I am going to uphold that agreement. That doesn't mean anybody's perfect - I don't believe in perfection, but I do believe in owning my own mistakes. I do believe in being candid and transparent when you make a mistake. That doesn't make you a bad leader, that makes you a great leader, in my opinion. The second core value that I really feel strongly about is grace. I think grace is an underrated attribute that I wish I saw more often in others. I have been so blessed to feel and experience grace, so I know and I recognize just how important it is to always assume positive intent. I may not agree with somebody, I may be frustrated with what someone is doing, I may even be mad, but if I can just stop and show grace in a given moment, I feel like that makes the world a better place and makes me a better leader also, because I will never know what goes on in the lives, minds, hearts, behind closed doors of the people I manage and the patients I work with and the colleagues that I influence. It doesn't excuse behavior, but grace is such a wonderful way of saying I'm human, I need grace at times, you're human, you need grace at times. And it can just really reframe an entire situation. The final would be authenticity. I think in my field in particular, you don't always find yourself surrounded by authentic people. What I find so refreshing about authenticity and why I'm that way is I could never be one of these leaders or these people that there's two sides to me. I can't do that. I'm not even capable of that. I'm authentic to the core in what I believe, in who I am, in how I advocate, and how I go to work every day. I really value what that does for the cultures that I work within and what it's done for me and my personal life with my family. So, integrity, grace, and authenticity are my key three.