2016 Gold Medalist – Nursing Administration and Leadership
Elizabeth Gonzales, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital
A nurse for 34 years, Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Gonzales began her career at the age of 18 as a nurse’s aide. “I always loved the biological sciences and I like caring for people, so nursing seemed like a natural choice,” Dr. Gonzales says. “I was lucky enough to have a high school biology teacher who encouraged me and when I went to college, I kept on with science. Nursing sounded like a great field and it’s been very good to me, opening doors to travel and service in a variety of positions. I still love what I do. It’s a great honor to be involved in someone’s life at a turbulent time, and I take that role very seriously.”
Dr. Gonzales is also passionate about education. She completed her associate’s degree in 1982 at Missouri Southern State College, her bachelor’s degree in 1987 at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and her master’s degree in 2003 at the UTHealth Science Center School of Nursing. She went on to complete her Doctor of Nursing Practice at the same institution in 2009.
People she has met in the course of her career have changed her perspective on the practice of nursing. “As a new nurse in my early 20s, I cared for a patient who had made the decision to die rather than have surgery for breast cancer,” she recalls. “I remember talking with her and crying with her and telling her I didn’t understand why she was making that choice. In the end she decided to have the surgery and thanked me. For the first time I understood the influence we as nurses have over our patients’ lives and the importance of using the right words. Other nurses have inspired me along the way with their knowledge, their technical skills and their leadership skills. I’ve taken what I’ve learned from patients and my colleagues and tried to put it all to good use.”
In her nomination, Pam Mengo, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, wrote that “Betty has a vision and plays for the team name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back. Her vision is to make Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital and its nurse practitioner program the best in the Houston area, with the patient at the center of our focus. She oozes dedication and invests countless hours in program development, process improvement, data collection, research, meetings to review data and outcomes, and nurse education. We follow her because we are inspired, because we respect the person she is and the integrity and compassion she shows. We see her in action, pitching in to help or filling in for people who are on vacation or out sick, and we see the excellent care she gives our patients. As an administrator, she doesn’t have to take shifts or help with our day-to-day duties, but she does it because patient care comes first. This is the art of nursing: taking extra time to do what’s right for the patient. There are many definitions of leadership – the capacity to translate vision into reality, a person who grows others, someone who takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be. Betty lives them all every day.”
Dr. Gonzales helped establish the Nurse Practitioner Program at Houston Methodist Sugar Land as well as the hospital’s programs in CV Surgery, STEMI, Stroke and Sepsis, and the Rapid Response Team. Because nurse practitioners play a vital role in these areas and are often on the frontline, she developed a program to orient and educate new nurse practitioners. She also encourages them to publish their research.
“She stands alongside them, supporting them and guiding them until they feel comfortable in their new roles,” Pam wrote. “She has instilled in our staff that same dedication. It’s amazing how much work Betty does and can still find time to be a good mother, wife and a volunteer in the community. She is a leader at the bedside, behind the bedside and around the bedside with a clear vision of what excellent care should be, and she models, inspires, mentors, supports, and values her staff and our hospital. She embodies the quote ‘Leadership is about having a selfless heart and always being willing to reach out and lend a helping hand.’”
Dr. Gonzales is an editor of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Journal; a member of Team Texas, which works to involve nurses in the community; a board member of the UTHealth School of Nursing Alumni Association; a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Society, the Honor Society of Nursing; and a member of the Association of Critical Care Nurses and the Texas Nurses Association (TNA). In 2014, TNA’s Texas Nurses Foundation recognized Dr. Gonzales among their Top 20 Outstanding Nurses. She has made significant contributions to the hospital’s Pathway to Excellence® designation and Magnet Recognition®. Her research on Marfan syndrome was published in the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2009.
“When I found out I won the Good Samaritan Award, I was honored and at the same time humbled,” Dr. Gonzales says. “I’m very passionate about what I do, but I feel the award is really for my staff. Without them I wouldn’t have received it. We need strong leadership in health care and the only way to do that is to dive in and take on some of the issues. I have wonderful mentors in this arena who have inspired me in the leadership role and I hope to inspire others in the same way. In the end, I’m still a clinician at heart. I love taking care of patients.”
On leadership, Dr. Gonzales says that the great leaders she’s known have been servant leaders who are there for their staff through difficult situations and help them grow their careers. She names her husband as a great mentor in the leadership role. “And my two children have grown up thinking it’s normal to work weekends and nights and holidays. They also think it’s normal to go to school forever.
“When I hear what nurses are doing across the country, it motivates me to grow and be better and learn more,” she says. “Nursing is always changing, which challenges us to keep up with evidence-based practice, legislative changes and changes in how health care is delivered. Nurses have a seat at the table and a voice in how we all move forward in health care. This is our moment in time.”
