Jeremy Crawford, MMHC, BBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, director of Nursing Operations for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, almost didn’t become a nurse, taking a career detour before he finally reached his true calling.
Growing up, his mom, Kathy, worked as a nurse, and his dad, Larry, worked as a banker. His senior year of high school, he considered if either profession might be a fit for him. He wasn’t sure he could become a nurse, though he was drawn to it as a career consideration.
“I grew up in a small town in West Tennessee, and I remember thinking, ‘boys can’t be nurses,’” Crawford said. “So, I went into my undergrad, majoring in business and finance, and ultimately went to work for six years in nonprofit management.”
In his nonprofit job, funded by a small government grant, Crawford helped refugees become economically self-sufficient through entrepreneurship by assisting them to write business plans and apply for small business loans. But part of the nonprofit work shut down, forcing Crawford to envision what was next. For him, it was time to pursue nursing, which not only fulfilled his true dream, but also honored his mom who passed away when he was in high school.
“I reflected on my mom’s journey and the compassion that she was able to show,” he said. “She was the community nurse for our neighborhood; she’d take stitches out for neighborhood kids. I also watched her adapt her career based on what was happening in life. I remember thinking I want something like that.”
Because his undergraduate major didn’t include a lot of science courses, he returned to school to fulfill prerequisites, and then attended Belmont University’s nursing program. He officially began his nursing career at Monroe Carell in the emergency department in January 2011, working his way up and taking on positions that allowed him to blend nursing with his business background.
Crawford was recognized for his work during the September VUMC Leadership Assembly with a Five Pillar Leadership Award. For him, it was humbling and validated his career choice.
As a parent of a child with physical disabilities, Crawford said he sees firsthand the importance of quality care and what it means to families. “I see the difference that quality care makes, especially care that’s patient and family centered. I feel like part of my job is to reduce barriers for frontline staff to be able to continue to provide that excellent care for our patients and families,” he said.
The Five Pillar Leader award specifically recognized Crawford for his initiative and project management around implementation and project go-live for ENFit, new industry standards for feeding patients using specialized feeding tube connectors that ensure IV and feeding lines have separate and unique connectors. ENFit marked a big practice change, particularly for pediatric patients who vary in size and have different connector/supply sizes. His job was to make sure Monroe Carell and the frontline staff were prepared for implementation.
“He is a gifted consensus builder, a talented influential leader, and a master at simplifying complexity,” wrote Gretchen McCullough, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer for Monroe Carell and one of his nominators for the award. “There are so many projects and initiatives at Monroe Carell that just work, seemingly by magic, but in truth that magic is often Jeremy. He is humble, decent and compassionate. Our team can do anything with Jeremy at our side.”
To surprise Crawford with the award, the team told him they had some equipment that needed repairs. “I walked in, and everyone said, ‘surprise!’ I was like, ‘Who are we surprising?’”
“I would like to say thank you to the team that honored me. I felt honored and humbled,” Crawford said. “I know I have so much to learn and so grateful to have a phenomenal team to learn from and work with every day. I am so very thankful for the team.”
View Jeremy Crawford’s video from Leadership Assembly.
If you are a VUMC employee, you can nominate a colleague for an Elevate Credo Award, Five Pillar Leader Award, or Team Award. Visit the Elevate website to fill out a nomination form. Employees demonstrate credo behaviors when: they make those they serve the highest priority; respect privacy and confidentiality; communicate effectively; conduct themselves professionally; have a sense of ownership; and are committed to their colleagues. Elevate award nominations are accepted year-round. If a nomination is received after the cut off for an award selection period, the nomination will be considered for the next period. VUMC VOICE will post stories on each of the award winners in the weeks following their announcement.
