If you know Nanette Pink ’13 (NUR), ’09 MbEIN, ’24 MSN, you already know her reputation for supporting her staff, so they not only feel heard, but they also feel encouraged to develop their skills both personally and professionally.

For more than 15 years, Pink has been either studying nursing at UConn, practicing nursing at UConn Health, or both. She’s been the nurse manager for the UConn John Dempsey Hospital orthopedics and surgery floor since 2022.

“On our unit, I really pride myself on having an inclusive environment and treating everybody with courtesy, kindness, and respect. When hiring to our unit, I look for candidates who will fit into our team qualities and traits of kindness, courtesy and respect, as well as uphold the UConn Health mission and vision,” Pink says. “I always say, I can teach you how to empty a drain, but I can’t teach you how to be kind.”

Several of her staff are studying to become nurses, and those who already are nurses are looking to further their professional nursing degrees, as Pink herself has. In December she earned a Master of Science in nursing with a concentration in nursing leadership, and this month she will walk at the UConn School of Nursing’s commencement.

Her master’s degree studies exposed her to something that she is bringing to UConn Health for Nurses Week, May 6-12.

“‘Everybody’s Work’ is a documentary film that talks about the difficulty of students of color and people of color obtaining a degree in general, or an advanced degree, in the health care field, specifically within nursing,” Pink says. “It’s a very eye-opening documentary about what individuals are still facing in this day and age, and the type of advocacy and support that nursing schools, individuals and health centers are doing to help support these students in getting back to school and completing their degree. I was shocked at how prevalent the challenges are that these individuals face throughout the country.”

As a graduate student, Pink observed a panel discussion on the documentary and decided her peers needed to see it. She arranged for a screening and panel discussion of ‘Everybody’s Work’ in UConn Health’s Low Learning Center Thursday, May 8, at 5:30 p.m. (registration is required).

Pink says nursing is one of the hardest professions to get into, and nursing school is one of the hardest undergraduate programs to complete — and that’s before taking into account things like cultural or socio-economic barriers, or balancing a full-time job and family along with it. She recognizes the stresses involved, and seeks to cultivate an environment where all feel they belong and have an open path to advancement.

“When we look at health care, we want to see ourselves in the professionals who are providing care to us, especially when we’re dealing with our current political and health care environment,” Pink says. “How do we make sure that the patients are seeing themselves in the staff, and the staff is feeling like they’ve got somebody there being an ally and supporting their professional growth? And that’s where ‘Everybody’s Work’ started.”

The team Pink has assembled in her three-plus years as nurse manager is one that reflects those values.

“One of my assistant nurse managers calls it the United Nations, which I kind of love, because everybody brings a different perspective,” she says.

Since joining UConn Health as a new graduate nurse in 2010, through her advancement to assistant nurse manager in late 2019, and into her current role as nurse manager, Pink has worked on the orthopedics and surgery floor, first in the Connecticut Tower and then in the University Tower after its opening in 2016. She is a stakeholder in UConn Health’s success, driven by what she feels is her calling.

“I was always brought up with the mentality that you serve the community that you live in, and this is my community,” Pink says. “It was really important for me to start my nursing career in a hospital and clinical unit where I felt my local community was being served.”

Pink leads by example by fostering a culture of kindness, inclusiveness, and respect that is welcoming to everyone, laying the groundwork for all to have an opportunity to grow and thrive.