Dr. Tiffany Love's Journey: From VA to Board-Certified Health Care Executive (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hi folks. Thank you so much for joining us. And joining me today is Dr. Tiffany Love. She is the Regional Chief Nursing Officer with Coastal Health Care Alliance. Dr. Love, thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 2: Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: You got it. You got it. Let's talk about your journey through and with ACHE. When did you become a member?

Speaker 2: So I became a member March 2015. Okay. I was in a situation where I had worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for many years and I was in a situation where there was an abrupt change in leadership. And suddenly I had a boss who did not seem confident in my leadership skills. And so being the clinician that I am, I thought I need to get certification. I did not want to pursue a nursing certification because I wanted people to know that my leadership skills extend beyond nursing. Okay. And so I saw the FACHE credential and I attended my first Congress, March 2015. People were so welcoming to me, CEOs, COOs eager to help me advance to that next level. So I studied for my test and in October 2015, I became a board certified health care executive.

Speaker 1: Wow. That's the fast track.

Speaker 2: That is the fast track.

Speaker 1: You were driven. You were certainly driven. I was, yes. And so now you are a fellow, indeed a fellow. I am, yes. How important is that?

Speaker 2: Oh, that credential is so important. I always like to say that credential speaks for you when you cannot speak for yourself. Sure. Yes. And so the networking also is just at another level. The weekend that I walked in convocation, that following Monday, I had the opportunity to attend a Fellows After Hours, which is my first fellows networking event. So when I attended the event, I was speaking to one of the governors and she introduced me to a CEO. He happened to be the CEO of a health care system, Maine Health, that I was already interviewing for. When he found out I was interviewing, he said, you have to come work with us in Maine. And apparently he must have made a call. And within that next week, I received a phone call to come in for a face-to-face interview.

Speaker 1: You see how networking works here at Congress. Isn't that great?

Speaker 2: Oh, it really has changed my life.

Speaker 1: Well, you're changing a lot of lives. Dr. Love, thank you so much for being here. Your story is very inspiring.

Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1: All right, folks. And we'll see you next time. Thanks so much for joining us.