Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Shaping Nursing Excellence Across UF Health with Dr. Janice Walker
Mar 6, 2026
Dr. Janice Walker, inaugural Chief Nursing Officer at UF Health and seasoned system nursing leader, discusses building an integrated nursing strategy across hospitals. She covers listening tours and regional collaboration. She outlines a seven-day, candidate-centric recruitment model and ways to boost retention through shared governance and multigenerational leadership.
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Listening Tour Before System Integration
- Janice Walker described building systemness by visiting all hospitals before making system-wide decisions.
- She completed a listening tour across 12 hospitals to learn local needs and said "I can't lead you if I don't know you."
System Chief Nurse Drives Uniform Quality
- A system chief nurse role centralizes nursing voice at executive tables to drive uniform quality and reduce variation.
- Walker explained adopting industry best practices once centrally rather than maintaining 12 different policies across entities.
Hire Nurses Within Seven Days
- Do rebuild recruitment to be candidate-centric and aim to complete hire decisions in seven days from application to offer.
- Walker said this requires structure, metrics, and close partnership between recruiters and hiring managers.