Nursing, Tech, and Hackathons: A Conversation with Molly McCarthy, MBA, RN-BC

Molly K. McCarthy MBA, RN-BC is Managing Director, U.S. Provider/Plans and Chief Nursing Officer at Microsoft. I had the pleasure of talking to Molly about her journey into nursing, working for Microsoft, nurses and board membership, and the longer term of nursing.

I used to be very curious not only about Molly’s role at Microsoft, but in addition how she got here to be in that position. Like a lot of us, Molly’s journey couldn’t have been predicted, and for me, that’s one among the good things about our occupation: there is actually a wealth of opportunities in each clinical and non-clinical roles.

Please hearken to our entire conversation and find out about Molly’s transition from a French major to nursing, then to work within the ICU and pediatric settings, then to business school, and the trail to her current profession at Microsoft.

Additional information from our conversation includes:

• Finding your “sweet spot” in nursing
• The importance of “branding” yourself as a nurse
• Having a “Growth Mindset”
• Following the “MSH” (Make Something Occur) line of pondering.
• Collaboration between Microsoft and Coalition of Nurses on Management Boards
• The importance of nurses in every type of management

Molly also told me concerning the initial planning for the 12 months of the Nurse and Midwife and the way Microsoft has modified with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, the Society of Nurse Scientists Innovators Entrepreneurs and Leaders (SONSIEL), and DevUP organized the primary NurseHack4Health: a virtual hackathon for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual hackathon brought together nurses and other frontline healthcare staff, developers and engineers to assist solve healthcare challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic using technology. The event, which was attended by over 900 registered participants, highlighted how nurses have played a key role in solving problems throughout the pandemic. Next month’s event will concentrate on Managing the pandemic – improving education and communication.

If you should learn more about healthcare and technology, I encourage you to ascertain out the section as well Microsoft US Health and Life Sciences Podcast Confessions of a Health Freak!