Details
Director of Clinical Nutrition, Thomas Cuisine Management, Saint Alphonsus Medical Center
Nampa, ID
Age: 27
Education: B.S. in psychology from Boise State University; working on a master’s in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University
Years at organization: 8
Why Selected?
Hal Hersley, director of food & nutrition services for Thomas Cuisine Management, says: Jamie started in our patient services area as a college student, became an assistant bookkeeper and then expressed an interest in our manager-in-training program. I have been very pleased with her maturity and professionalism. She has demonstrated an ability to deliver on the company’s standards at a high level and has done so by getting outcomes through coaching and developing a solid, engaged team.
Get to know
The successful redesign of our kitchen last summer. We remodeled the patient line, which gave us the ability to cook patient food to order.
Q. What would you say you excel at over more seasoned colleagues?The ability to question the status quo, to look at a process and objectively ask why we do it that way and come up with ways that may be better.
Q. What's the best career advice you've been given?When I first started managing, my boss, Hal Hersley, watched me do a staff presentation. He took me aside and told me to make sure I’m talking to my team and not at my team. Armed with that information I think I’ve been better able to manage.
Q. What's been the biggest challenge you've had to overcome?My age. We have several staff members who have worked at the hospital longer than I’ve been alive, so to come in and lead them has been a challenge.
Q. What's been your most rewarding moment?Being told by one of my team members that it’s clear that I care about them as people as opposed to just employees.
Q. What would you like to accomplish in your career in the next two years?I would really like to institute a room service-style model.
Q. What's been your funniest on-the-job disaster?I had a very high-class function that I was asked to help cater for the distinguished hospital donors. While our CEO was giving her address I was delivering food and it was right in front of the podium. I dropped a stack of about 10 aluminum plate covers, which made a very loud noise and interrupted the speech.
Q. What can you look back at now and laugh at?When I was younger I had the perception that managers had all the answers. As I’ve grown up, the truth is more of the answers come from my team than from me.