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Lisa De La Cruz, RN

M.A.S. (spring '06)

Current Position
Director of Patient Care Services, Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista 3rd floor Medical Surgical Telemetry/4th floor Definitive Observation Unit

Mentor: Healthcare career mentor to senior high school students that comes to Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista (observing the nursing role)

Coordinator of the Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista Mentorship Program to Southwestern College Nursing Students, assigning mentors to first year nursing students to promote retention & recruitment.

Education

2006 M.A.S., LHCO, UCSD

1999 MSN, University of Phoenix

1998 BSN, University of Phoenix

1987 Associate Degree in Nursing, Southwestern College

1980 Licensed Vocational Nursing, Hillcrest College (now closed)

As a charge nurse, Lisa De La Cruz enjoyed supervising staff and knew a move into management was her next step. But how? Her nursing degree and experience offered an invaluable perspective but didn’t fully prepare her to handle all the complex financial, management, and policy issues involved in running a hospital unit.

When her employer suggested UC San Diego’s Healthcare Leadership certificate and master’s degree programs, she knew enrolling in the program would help her close the knowledge gap and pave the way for future career advancement, with an added bonus of tuition reimbursement!

Focused and talented employees like Lisa tend to attract opportunities. While enrolled in the certificate program, Lisa was recruited from her supervisory nursing position to fill a management role at another healthcare facility. Tuition reimbursement wasn’t on the table, but the opportunity was too good to pass up, and a clear endorsement of her leadership potential.

Lisa recognized advanced training would be vital to moving up within any organization and earning a graduate degree was an important key to success. She was able to build on completed coursework in the Healthcare Leadership certificate program and complete her Master’s Degree.

Today, Lisa is busy as Director of Patient Care Services at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista supervising more than 130 employees. Extending her leadership commitment into the community, Lisa works with schools and community groups to help others discover a path to highly rewarding careers in healthcare.

Real-world benefits

The program at UCSD delivers unique and relevant benefits for each student. Program highlights for Lisa included:

Contact with industry leaders: Lisa values her contact with “really great leaders” in the program, noting she studied with multiple CEOs from leading healthcare organization willing to share their insider perspectives.

Program guidance: As a working student, Lisa got the support she needed from LHCO program administration to outline a course of study that fit her professional goals and schedule.

Instructor guidance: Lisa’s advisor was an invaluable resource, investing significant time to help her successfully complete her capstone research project.

Peer and applied learning: Lisa emphasizes that in addition to having contact with industry leaders; the program is an open door to a diverse range of industry experience, as supplied by fellow students. Not only do you study theory, you examine its implementation and effectiveness in real-world applications.

UCSD reputation: Lisa knew that UCSD’s faculty and curriculum were the ticket to the level of training she sought.

Real-world results

New knowledge and tools strengthen our graduates’ roles within their organizations and industries. For Lisa, this meant:

Lisa’s professional depth and marketability increased with each course. Apparently, the change was noticeable to prospective employers, too, as Lisa's career advances suggest.

Professional contacts with instructors and students carry over from the program to the workplace, helping Lisa continue to develop professionally and also share her expertise in consultations with colleagues.

Applied knowledge in an LHCO finance course helped Lisa develop vital financial management and budgeting skills.

Community investment and workforce development are evidence of Lisa’s “pay it back” spirit, in recognition of the help she received from key individuals who took an interest in her potential. Today, Lisa mentors high school students, introducing the benefits of careers in nursing. She also works with community programs to expose adults to nursing careers. In yet another program, with Southwestern College, she pairs her nursing staff with nursing students to promote recruitment in the field while building pride among veteran staff.

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