Her Story
About maura
Maura Nicotra is a healthcare professional and clinical consultant with 42 years of nursing experience. After 25 years at the bedside as an open-heart nurse, she moved into an administrative role within a large health system before transitioning to the medical device industry as a nurse consultant. In that role, she taught nurses across the country about new medical devices, national guidelines, and nursing practice while working with two startup companies. Nicotra then took on a sales position at Solventum, formerly 3M, where she serves as an Acute Patient Care Account Manager in the vascular access space. She became board certified as a vascular access nurse and is also certified in critical care nursing. She is a member of APIC and its local chapter TRIPIC, the American Vascular Access Association, and the Infusion Nurse Society. Nicotra attributes her success to personal drive and a strong work ethic instilled by her parents, along with ongoing learning from others. She values supporting new nurses through mentorship, maintaining a growth mindset, and balancing cost and quality in patient care.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with maura
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to personal drive and having amazing parents who instilled a great work ethic. I have a really strong work ethic myself. People along the way have taught me so much, and I'm always learning something every day from somebody, which I really value.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice is to continue to grow and really just have an open mind to understand different perspectives and what the challenges are. Always be ready to pivot and adapt to change because that moves you forward versus getting stuck. Having a growth mindset is really important in any industry.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Young women need to understand what they're getting into before they step into nursing because it is a very selfless and challenging field. It sounds like a calling. Educate yourself but think more globally and broadly. Be open to other ideas and other ways of doing things. Don't have fear to challenge yourself. If you fail, it's not failing, it's learning and part of your growth.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is cost versus quality. Everybody is trying to reduce costs but at a price when patient care isn't at the center. Hospitals aren't making good decisions in terms of doing clinical research. There are products out there that aren't clinically backed. It's very challenging when somebody hasn't done their research but thinks they know. It's hard to show that it's not always price over quality.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Supporting each other in the nursing profession is important. We need to embrace new nurses and mentor them. It's really important to continue to grow and learn about yourself and have self-awareness. Emotional intelligence makes you successful in any industry. Honesty and integrity, but you have to be driven within yourself to be successful.
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