Dr. Teresa Petty Kristek, DNP, MSN, RN, FNE, TCRN

I attribute my success to the guidance and support of exceptional mentors, particularly Teri Ullsperger, RN, and Dr. Pamela Hicks Van-Haren, who have played a pivotal role in my professional and academic journey. Their encouragement, insight, and unwavering belief in my potential helped me navigate both professional challenges and significant personal hardship, including the loss of my father while I was completing my doctorate. Their mentorship strengthened my resilience, deepened my commitment to nursing education and leadership, and reinforced the importance of perseverance, purpose, and integrity in achieving long-term goals.

My advice to young women entering nursing is to approach the profession with honesty about both its challenges and its rewards. Nursing is demanding, emotionally intense, and often requires working through situations that test your resilience, critical thinking, and compassion under pressure. There will be moments when the work feels overwhelming and times when your efforts go unrecognized, but that is part of the reality of caring for others in their most vulnerable moments. However, if nursing is truly your calling, it is an incredibly meaningful and impactful career where you have the opportunity to make a lasting difference in patients’ lives every day. I encourage you to stay grounded in your purpose, remain committed to continuous learning, and surround yourself with strong mentors and supportive colleagues who will help guide and strengthen you throughout your journey.

One of the biggest challenges in emergency nursing today is strengthening preceptor education and ensuring robust support systems for new nurses entering the profession. While preceptors play a critical role in bridging academic preparation with real-world clinical practice, many are placed in these roles without consistent training, standardized preparation, or adequate incentives. This can lead to variability in onboarding experiences and impact both nurse confidence and patient outcomes. At the same time, this challenge presents a significant opportunity for healthcare organizations to invest in structured preceptor development programs, formalize competency-based training, and create meaningful recognition and incentive models. By elevating the role of the preceptor and providing the necessary tools and support, we can improve retention, enhance clinical competency, and ultimately strengthen the future nursing workforce.

The values most important to me in both my professional and personal life are integrity, excellence, and a deep commitment to developing others. I strongly believe in creating supportive learning environments where nurses are properly prepared, mentored, and empowered to succeed, particularly through intentional investment in preceptor education and engagement. Effective preceptorship is critical to patient safety and workforce development, and I am passionate about ensuring preceptors are not only clinically competent but also equipped, supported, and incentivized to actively guide new nurses during their transition into practice. These values are reflected in my ongoing advocacy and education efforts, including my upcoming national presentation at the Society of Urological Nurses Association in Las Vegas on “The Golden Preceptors,” where I highlight the importance of strengthening preceptor roles and aligning leadership support with frontline training needs to improve outcomes for both nurses and patients.