By Don Sadler
It’s funny how a chance encounter can alter the course of one’s life. After she graduated with her BSN from the West Virginia School of Nursing in 1993, Jamie Ridout was sitting with some fellow graduates at the Sigma Theta Tau induction ceremony. A woman she didn’t know asked Jamie if she could sit down next to her.
As the graduates talked about the nursing jobs they had lined up, Jamie admitted that she didn’t know where she wanted to go in her nursing career. “This woman, whose name was Dawn Yost, asked me if I had thought about perioperative nursing and I said no because nursing students didn’t get much exposure to this back then,” says Jamie. “Dawn invited me to interview with her for a perioperative nursing job at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.”
Thus began Jamie’s three-plus decade career in perioperative nursing. After she spent a year as a cardiovascular surgical nurse at Ruby Memorial, warmer weather ultimately drew her south, where she found a job on the sandy beaches of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Jamie wanted to learn the OR quickly and get as much diverse exposure as she could, so she hit the road as a cardiovascular contract traveling nurse for the next several years.
Jamie ultimately settled in North Carolina and obtained her MSN at Duke University in 2000. She managed a Phase 1 pharmaceutical research clinic before becoming a nurse practitioner for a cardiothoracic program, where she helped establish their multispecialty robotics program, and then moved to a bariatric practice after the birth of her first son. She was then recruited to Georgia for her first director role at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta where she oversaw six cardiothoracic, vascular and robotic surgery operating rooms.
After the birth of her second son, Jamie and her family headed back to North Carolina where she assumed the role of associate chief nursing officer for perioperative services at Durham Regional Hospital. In 2012, Jamie became the director of clinical practice at Duke Heart Network, and in 2014 she earned her MBA from Elon University.
Jamie spent the next eight years as the CEO and executive director of free-standing, for-profit ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) before moving into what she describes as her best job yet: system vice president, perioperative nursing practice at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania. In this role, she provides executive leadership and strategic direction for surgical services across a multi-region, multi-site health system in central, north central and northeastern Pennsylvania.
“Staying close to nursing practice and frontline staff is what I love most about my current role,” Jamie says. “It enables me to take my career in perioperative leadership from the boardroom to the bedside. I love to see nurses grow and describe myself as a coach and mentor, yet also someone who strives to provide opportunities for growth and remove obstacles so nurses can be successful.”
Though Jamie has worked primarily in management roles and hasn’t been hands-on in the operating room for a number of years, she remains close to the OR. “One of my guiding principles as a leader is to stay relevant to perioperative nurses and serve as an advocate,” she says. “This is hard work, but it’s important and meaningful. So, I strive to make sure perioperative nurses are represented at the table.”
The most rewarding part of Jamie’s role as a perioperative leader is helping others grow and advance in their careers. “I really love connecting people, exploring their interests and giving them opportunities to get to places they never thought they would,” she says. “At this stage in my career, this is what truly gives me the most satisfaction.”
Jamie is a lifetime member of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and has served on the AORN National Nominating Committee and as AORN National Secretary. She is currently serving as the AORN National Vice President and is on the ballot for AORN President-Elect, the results of which will be determined in April.
“It is a great honor to serve our members and nurses at such a high level,” Jamie says. “Serving nationally with AORN is my way of giving back to the profession that has given me so much.”
While she believes progress has been made, Jamie says there’s still work to be done when it comes to tackling the culture of the OR and nurses taking care of each other. “Things have improved during the 30 years I’ve been around, but we’re still not there yet,” she says. “I tell my nurses that culture and surgical consciousness starts with you. It’s showing up every day and bringing your best self to work.”
Jamie foresees perioperative nursing growing more complex as technology and artificial intelligence play a bigger role in delivering care to patients. “There are going to be new roles for perioperative nurses that we don’t even know about yet,” she says. “But there will always be a hands-on role for nurses in perioperative practice as long as we continue to show up and demonstrate our value.”
Jamie lives in Cary, N.C., with her husband Mike, two sons Xavier and Aidan, and three cats: Sally the Elder, Quinn the Brave and Spooky Big Paws. She loves watching her sons, ages 18 and 21, become exceptional young men. Jamie’s favorite place to vacation is on the beaches of North Carolina, and her family is planning a trip to Japan this year to celebrate her sons’ graduations.
Professional Spotlight Nomination
