Her Story
About Tarah
Tarah Day serves as Director of Emergency Services for TGUH, Inc. in Center City, Philadelphia. Since entering the nursing field in 2012, she has advanced through leadership roles, previously serving as Manager of Emergency Services for Allegheny General Hospital. In her current position, Day oversees operations, budget, staffing, and patient care for several Jefferson hospital emergency departments, including level 1 trauma, high-risk stroke and cardiac cases, and a specialty ophthalmology ED. She leads a team of over 300 nurses and techs. Day earned her MSN from Western Governors University and her BSN from the University of Lynchburg. She holds a Black Belt certification in Lean Six Sigma with a healthcare focus, and is a certified emergency department nurse and certified forensic nurse. Her professional honors include induction into the National Nurse Honor Society, a DAISY Award nomination, and a nomination for the Nursing Leadership Award through Jefferson. Day attributes her success to her passion for emergency medicine and commitment to serving vulnerable populations, while emphasizing authenticity in her leadership approach.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tarah
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's I have a lot of passion and energy, specifically for emergency medicine. I really love serving vulnerable populations, and working in Center City, Philadelphia gives me the opportunity to care for people that often don't receive any kinds of care or love or empathy on a daily basis. And then, again, I get to lead the team that is hands-on with this population, so being able to provide them a workspace and workflow that meets their needs and optimizes their day-to-day so they can provide the highest level of care. Keeps me really, really motivated, makes all the really long hours well worth it.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I think it's been, you know, just remain true to who you are, and trust that gut instinct. If it doesn't feel right, it's probably not right. And I think that applies for your bedside nurse or tech, I think that applies for leaders, and kind of letting your moral compass guide your decision making.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's all about. Especially in healthcare, right, we never close our doors, there's never a day off, there's always people that need us. So making sure that you're taking the time to rest, reset, and energize yourself so you can come back your best, to continue to be able to do the things that we need to do.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think just health in general right now is needs a complete overhaul. There's really limited outpatient resources, care seems to be dictated by insurance at this point. As opposed to medical decision-making, which is really, really challenging. And then support for those that are underserved and in those vulnerable categories.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think authenticity is probably my biggest one. You know, being an ED nurse, at heart, I lead a little differently than a lot of nurse leaders. I'm a little bit more in my approach, right? We have to get things done right now, or bad things can happen. And then bringing that side of me, home for my kiddos, and making sure that their true self can shine through when they see mom being a little bit silly, or things like that. Just Kind of making it Okay to be who you are in a world that seems to want atmosphere. conformity.
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