Kelly Williams

Name:  Kelly E. Williams Kelly in the field

Hometown:  Harrisburg, Pa 

Anticipated graduation:  May, 2023 

Major:  Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) 

If you are currently employed in your field, please provide professional information, where you work, when you started, etc.: 

I have been working as a nurse practitioner on the Intensivist Team in the Heart & Vascular Critical Care Unit at Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center for over nine years.  I received my bachelor’s degree in nursing from Penn State University in 1999 and completed the Critical Care Internship Program at Hershey Medical Center to begin my career as an intensive care nurse.  After a few years, I decided to do travel nursing and worked in hospitals all over the country, while experiencing new cities and seeing many beautiful new places.  When I returned to Pennsylvania, I completed a master’s degree in nursing at Penn State to become a Clinical Nurse Specialist.  With this degree, I became a nurse educator for the Heart & Vascular Critical Care Unit and while I enjoyed many aspects of this job, I missed direct patient care at the bedside.  So, I returned to school at the University of Pennsylvania and received an additional master’s degree to become an acute care nurse practitioner.  Since that time, I have been working with my current Intensivist team and I really love my job and taking care of my patients.  After hearing many great things about Millersville University, I decided to apply and work toward my terminal degree in the DNP program. 

Internships/Research/Projects: 

As part of the DNP program, I will be implementing a project based on current research in an effort to improve nursing practice in my intensive care unit.  My project will be focused on the improvement of the care of patients who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).   

Inspirations (for major, research, internship):  

My inspiration is always my patients.  It is so important to strive to improve their care and outcomes.  Improving outcomes through research will affect all of us in some way in the future.   

Highlights (from courses/internship/research): 

I have only been enrolled for two semesters at this point and I’m beginning to develop my project next semester, so I’m hoping that the results and hopefully the success of my DNP project will be the highlight of my program! 

Takeaway (from courses/internship/research):  

My takeaway and advice for incoming students is to take a deep breath when you start to feel overwhelmed and just start to do one thing at a time.  You will be amazed and so proud of what you can accomplish. 

Aspirations (upon graduation):  

Upon completing this degree, I hope to continue to provide the best of care to my patients with hopes of improving my leadership skills, and also my skills in applying research to practice in order to improve the overall care in my unit and even more globally.     

What has been the most significant and/or exciting aspect of your work? 

The most significant aspect of my work is seeing someone recover from a devastating illness or surgery and return home to their families.  When patients come back to see us and show us how well they are doing, it makes everything so worthwhile.