by Kathy Rivers
Shawn Murphy, MSM, RN, has been named the Vice President of Perioperative Services for Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital (VUAH). She will join Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Jan. 4, 2021.
In this role, Murphy will report to Shon Dwyer, MBA, RN, President of VUAH, and will be responsible for the overall operational and strategic leadership of adult Perioperative Services. She will partner with surgery, anesthesia, nursing and other leaders to optimize current operations, initiate best practices and ensure quality and safety by implementing high-reliability practices.
Roger Dmochowski, MD, professor of Urologic Surgery, associate surgeon in chief and vice chair for Faculty Affairs and Professionalism for the Section of Surgical Sciences, has served as interim Vice President of Perioperative Services since February.
“We owe Roger a huge debt of gratitude for taking on this role in addition to his other crucial duties while we conducted a national search. Thanks to his leadership, we have successfully navigated a host of issues during our COVID-19 response and advanced our perioperative goals and objectives. Roger’s unparalleled commitment to quality and his deep compassion for people are tremendous assets to our organization. We can’t thank him enough for giving us more of his time,” said Dwyer.
“I was fortunate to work with Shawn at the University of Michigan Health System for many years and am delighted she is joining us in this pivotal role. She knows what it takes to achieve best-in-class performance in perioperative services,” said Dwyer. “Her proven track record includes program development, process improvement and integrating with other departments, which is exactly what we need. She is a relationship builder who sees healthcare through a patient-focused lens.”
For more than 14 years, Murphy has been the administrative leader of perioperative and perianesthesia patient care for the University of Michigan’s Health System, including the health system’s flagship University Hospital, Mott Children’s Hospital, Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Kellogg Eye Center and Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
During that time, she was also responsible for the Perfusion Services for adult and pediatric hospitals and for system-wide sterile processing and high-level disinfection centers.
A native of Michigan, Murphy’s experience also includes serving as administrative manager in cardiovascular, peripheral vascular and thoracic surgery at Beaumont Hospital. At Crittenton Hospital, she was the nursing administrator for perioperative patient care services/surgical, anesthesia, obstetrical unit, endoscopy unit and cardiac catheterization lab services.
She started her career as a nurse and progressed to director of surgical services in William Beaumont Hospital, a position she held for 15 years.
Murphy earned a Master of Science in Management from Walsh College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Detroit. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses and the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses.