Norine Watson is the senior director of nursing excellence at Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley, where she led Magnet designation and shared governance initiatives using the Index of Professional Nursing Governance.
Career and Nursing Excellence
A nurse since 1981, Norine Watson, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, has worked in many facets of nursing from a direct care nurse to her current role as the senior director of nursing excellence with Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Valley in Wilmington, Delaware. Throughout her career, the focus of her nursing roles has been advancing, promoting, and building empowerment structures for nurses. In this capacity, she advises the Nursing Shared Governance Congress and facilitates the Nursing Advancement Review board. Moreover, she led the efforts that resulted in Nemours being designated as a Magnet hospital in November 2012 and redesignated in 2017.
Research and Presentations
In 2016 Norine was a member of the research team at Nemours for an organizational study, Nurse Reported Experience with Shared Governance, using the Index of Professional Nursing Governance, developed by Robert Hess, PhD, RN, FAAN. Also in 2016 Norine partnered with Jane Mericle, DNP, MLC-BC and Elizabeth Johnson-Salerno, MSN, RN, NE-BC to provide a podium presentation, Creating a Successful Nurse Executive Transition Through Investing in Leadership and Creating Strategy, at the American Organization of Nursing Executives’ annual meeting.
Awards and Recognition
Norine has been recognized by the University of Delaware with the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement in 2014 and as a University of Delaware Nursing 50 Stars honoree in 2016. In addition, she received the University of Delaware, School of Nursing Outstanding Alumni Award in 2013. That same year, she also received the Delaware Excellence in Nursing Practice Award – Executive Nurse Leader, and was Nurse.com’s regional winner for Advancing & Leading the Profession.
Education and Credentials
Norine graduated with an associate’s degree from Delaware Technical and Community College, and then earned a BSN and an MSN from the University of Delaware, in Newark, Delaware. In 2019 she completed a doctor of nursing practice, executive leadership at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Furthermore, she is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in the specialty of Nurse Executive Advanced.
Click the photo below to hear Norine talk about shared governance.