Her Story
About Vanessa
Vanessa Gerdes is a patient experience professional based in Victorville, California. With about six years in the field, she advocates for patients and continuously develops methods to enhance their experiences across several health institutes. Gerdes earned her CPXP credential as a Certified Patient Experience Professional and recently completed a second associate's degree and management certificate at Victor Valley College. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and volunteers on the Beryl Institute Patient Advocacy Council and the Peer Review Board of the Journal of Patient Experience. Gerdes attributes her success to directly observing the impact of her work, which motivates her ongoing learning and pursuit of a bachelor's degree. She values personalization, communication, transparency, respect, and dignity in her interactions and advises leading with heart and compassion.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Vanessa
01What do you attribute your success to?
Directly seeing the impact that I make is very motivating and encouraging for me to not only keep doing this kind of work but to also keep learning. That's one of the reasons why I went back to school again, why I continue to aspire to get my bachelor's degree and so forth. Be continuous, want to learn, want to improve. And learn directly from the patients as well.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it. Never feel that you're incapable of doing anything.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
To always lead all of your interactions with your heart and with compassion.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The widespread need for improved and meaningful patient experiences is a challenge, and it definitely takes a team to be able to come together and make improvements with. There's an endless need and because of that I always want to help as many as I can. There’s an entire world beyond my city and California who is in need and because of this, it is difficult to make improvements in everyone’s lives and in every healthcare system.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is personalization. In the healthcare atmosphere and in a personal capacity, when we create interactions and conversations that are personal, we really gather the human element back. I would also say great communication, transparency, respect, and dignity when it comes to all interactions, especially in patient care.
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