By Laura Gasque and Pareasa Rahimi
Preparing future nurse leaders is our specialty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing. From our DNP Nurse Executive and Population Health Pathways to the MSN Nursing Health Systems Leadership Pathways, which encompass five specialty tracks—our faculty bring real-world experience as hospital executives and nurse leaders to the classroom. Our alumni are leading schools, hospitals and health systems across the country.
We also offer a MSN/MBA dual degree that combines health care and business strategies to prepare students for executive positions. Students are provided the education to function in senior leadership roles with increasing demands.
Nationally ranked
The MSN Nursing Health Systems Administration Specialty ranks No. 5 in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report “Best Graduate Schools” rankings. The specialty prepares students for leadership positions in health care systems, from unit level to system wide leadership roles. Graduates are prepared for management roles at all levels of the organization.
NHSA is one of four of the School’s graduate specialties also ranked in the top 10. The School’s Master of Science in Nursing ranked No. 11, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice ranked No. 10, up one spot from the previous year.
Our Dean is a leading expert
Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair Maria R. Shirey, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FACHE, FNAP, FAAN, is an internationally recognized expert in nursing leadership and management. She teaches leadership, management, health policy and scholarly writing in the DNP and PhD programs.
Shirey’s research focus includes authentic leadership in nursing as well as the development of interprofessional collaborative practice models to advance care access and health equity for vulnerable populations with chronic diseases.
Shirey was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Her unique interprofessional point of view has allowed her to bring to UAB extramural funding of more than $20 million since 2013. She has been awarded three U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration training grants to establish the now sustained Heart Failure Transitional Care Services for Adults (HRTSA) Clinic in collaboration with UAB Medicine, and to help improve health outcomes in medically underserved areas.
In 2019, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership recognized Shirey with its Nurse Researcher Award for her career contributions to advancing leadership and health systems science, and she received the inaugural Suzanne Smith Memorial Award for Scholarly Writing Excellence from the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing in 2016.
Faculty bring real-world expertise
Leadership and Administration faculty are nurse leaders who bring their experiences as CNOs, CEOs and CNIOs in their coaching and mentorship. Several also currently serve or have served in leadership roles across prominent nursing organizations or within health systems.
Associate Professor, DNP Nurse Executive Pathway and MSN Nursing Health Systems Leadership Pathway Director Heather Nelson-Brantley, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNE, joined the School in 2023 and is nationally recognized for her expertise in nursing leadership research and implementation science. She currently is President of the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing. ALSN is an international association dedicated to uniting academic and practice leaders to shape leadership science, education in nursing and the practice of nursing leadership.
Nelson-Brantley previously served two terms as ALSN Vice President of Research, during which she strengthened the organization by bringing together nurse leaders in research and practice to innovatively overcome barriers that have historically limited the field’s research and impact. She also partnered with the ALSN treasurer and former ALSN President to establish the ALSN Research Fund, providing import pilot research grants that support and advance the field. Nelson-Brantley currently leads ALSN’s research committee on groundbreaking research examining nurses’ use of social media and job decision-making. She is the lead author of the study, “The Relationship Between Social Media Use, Nurse Characteristics and Job Decision-Making.” Co-authors include alumna Asiah Ruffin, PhD, RN, (BSN 2019, PhD 2024), and alumna and Assistant Professor Aoyjai P. Montgomery, PhD, RN (PhD 2019).
Nelson-Brantley also is a Betty Irene Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators Fellow. She has received several awards for her expertise in nursing leadership research and education, including the ALSN Early Careerist Award, Faculty Research Investigator Award and the DAISY Faculty Award.
Associate Professor and Coordinator, Nursing Health Systems Administration Specialty Track Greg Eagerton, DNP, RN, NEA-BC (BSN 1985, MSN 1991), joined the School in November 2017. He has more than 30 years of experience in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System, including more than 17 years as a Chief Nursing Officer. During his time at Birmingham VAHCS, Eagerton led the way in implementing the role of Clinical Nurse Leaders in a practice setting. He also played an important role in the development of an innovative academic practice partnership with the School, The VA Nursing Academy, now known as the VA Nursing Academic Partnership, to support nursing students, faculty and Veteran health care.
Eagerton also serves as President of the Birmingham at-Large Chapter of the American Association for Men in Nursing. He received the UAB “Recognized Leader” Alumni Award in 2010 and was inducted into the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame in 2011. His research and published works involve leadership and partnerships to improve quality care for Veterans.
Instructor Michael Mosley, DNP, APRN, ANP‐BC, is Coordinator of the Nurse Management of Care Transitions Specialty. Throughout his career, he has worked in acute, intensive and home care settings and held positions from the bedside level to administration. He also had a faculty practice with The Foundry’s Changed Lives Mobile Clinic, serving men at The Foundry’s two residential facilities in Birmingham and Cullman in central Alabama. The clinic is part of The Foundry Rescue Mission and Recovery Center, a faith-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
Assistant Professor Kelly Resco-Summers, DNP, MADM, RN, is Coordinator of the Nursing Informatics Specialty. She has more than 38 years of clinical and leadership experience, with 20 years as a clinical and informatics executive driving care transformation across integrated delivery networks, academic medical centers, and two Fortune 500 technology companies.
Associate Professor and Interim Assistant Dean for Graduate Clinical Education-DNP Tedra Smith, DNP, CRNP, CPNP‐PC, CNE, CHSE (MSN 2004, DNP 2011), coordinates the Clinical Research Management specialty and has more than 20 years of experience as a pediatric nurse with a specialization in primary, emergency and preanesthesia care. Smith serves on the National League of Nursing Board of Directors and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Simulation Committee. In 2023, she was recognized as the National Black Nurses Association Inc. Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year. She previously served as President of the Alabama League for Nursing and received the ALN Lamplighter Award in 2019.
Instructor Taryn Temples, MSN, RN, RNC‐NIC, CNE, is Coordinator of the MSN Nurse Educator Specialty Track. She joined the School’s faculty in January 2017 after a 10-year bedside career in neonatal intensive care and maternal-child health. She also teaches foundational skills and Obstetric-Neonatal nursing in the Accelerated Master's in Nursing Pathway (AMNP). She serves as lead project faculty for the MAGICcity Health Health Resources and Services Administration grant, awarded to the School’s Office of Access and Engagement, which seeks to establish a health and wellness initiative in Birmingham’s Titusville neighborhood to reduce obesity and chronic disease rates among children and their families.
Assistant Professor Jennifer Werthman, PhD, MS, MBA, RN, NE-BC, is Director of the DNP Population Health Pathway. She is a nurse educator and health care leader with expertise in evidence-based practice, workforce development and radiology leadership. Werthman’s research interests include population health, quality improvement, knowledge management, and connecting organizational resources to support care for vulnerable populations. Her work focuses on how health care organizations can align leadership and clinical practices to deliver high-quality, equitable care in complex environments.
Developing faculty leadership
In 2023, the School launched its Health Policy Fellows program as part of the broader Leadership and Health Policy Initiative. This initiative is designed to leverage the School’s exceptional leadership and health policy work under a single umbrella, and formally investing in training faculty, students and community nurses to lead nursing and health care change at all levels. This is a two-pronged approach that integrates the School’s recognized excellence in leadership and health policy advocacy to produce a nursing workforce skilled in embedding leadership development and policy change in systems for the future. The initiative helps train faculty, students and community nurses to lead nursing and health care change at all levels, all to build and sustain a strong and diverse cadre of nurse leaders educated to shape equitable and patient-centered health care. Eight faculty made up the inaugural Fellowship that included didactic and experiential learning.
Alumni are leaders in their field
"My experiences at UAB have been uplifting to my leadership practice. I am a nursing leader of 30 years. I have learned so much and have enjoyed every moment. I highly recommend this DNP."
-Patricia Mook, DNP, MSN, RN (DNP 2023)
DNP Nurse Executive Graduate
Senior Vice President, Nursing Operations, Education and Professional Development
Advocate Health
"Being able to go to a world-class institution like the UAB School of Nursing, gain additional knowledge and have the benefit of being in a cohort of other professionals that can be your lifelong friends as well as professional networking is something that will benefit you throughout your career and really just your life experience."
-Stephanie Reed, DNP (BSN 2008, MSN 2015, DNP 2022)
DNP Nurse Executive and MSN Nursing Informatics Graduate
Chief Clinical Information Officer, Children’s of Alabama
"The things that I’m learning in my classes I’m able to apply immediately in my role, and I’m able to make positive changes in my unit from the things that I’m learning."
-Heather Parker, MSN, RN, CPN (MSN 2025)
MSN Nursing Health Systems Administration Graduate
Director, Pulmonary Care Unit
Children’s of Alabama
“Completing the DNP program provided additional tools to make that next step as an executive nurse leader, including working on interprofessional teams and handling executive demands. Graduating with knowledge of health systems, legislation, finance and other skills is immensely important for nurses who hope to advance as leaders. By providing this foundation, UAB is setting nurses up for success at all levels of care and creating leaders who can adapt as leadership needs become more complex.”
- Terri Poe, DNP, RN, NE-BC (BSN 1986, DNP 2013)
Chief Nursing Officer of UAB Hospital and Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Nursing Clinical Practice and Partnerships