Her Story
About Margie
Margie Nelson recently retired from a career in the healthcare industry, where she specialized in patient advocacy, care quality and risk management, and physician wellness. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Bachelor of Medical Technology from George Washington University, followed by a Master's degree in healthcare quality and safety in 2017 from the same institution. Nelson is EMT certified, holds an American Society of Clinical Pathology certification, and is a CPXP Certified Patient Experience Professional. Her professional experience includes work at Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, where she supported children's health initiatives. She attributes her success to kindness and compassion, a willingness to listen, and a unique talent for communicating effectively with both medical professionals and families, often bridging gaps when expectations differ. Nelson values honesty, integrity, genuine caring, and flexibility in both her work and personal life. She advises young women entering healthcare to research specialties that align with their emotional, financial, and intellectual needs, noting the industry's challenges with affordability and access in underserved areas while highlighting opportunities for right-level care delivery.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Margie
01What do you attribute your success to?
Kindness and compassion. Willingness to listen. And I've been lucky, growing up in a medical family that I have a somewhat unique talent of being able to communicate both with medical professionals and with families, and bring them together when things aren't quite the way either side expected.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Listen carefully. And go back and review what you heard before drawing a conclusion.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It is a broken industry, and it breaks the hearts of people who go in caring and thinking that this is going to be there. A lot of people who go into healthcare, it's their calling. However, it women carry a sensitivity, and a emotional component, and it's hard, especially given some of the restrictions that insurance company and the government have put on, and it makes it very difficult. If you love it, it breaks your heart. Maybe do your research and pick a specialty within medicine that will meet all of your needs. Both your emotional needs, your financial needs, your intellectual actual needs.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There is not enough provision or the need. And the expense of healthcare isn't affordable for everyone. So, we are headed in a really difficult direction with a lot of rural clinics and a lot of X for people who need care, but are probably in less populated or less economically advantaged areas. Opportunities include providing care at the right level at the right time, such as opening clinics in fire stations or secondary emergency rooms for less critical care issues.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty. Integrity. Genuine caring. Flexibility.
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