Donna Cardillo Speaker Biography
Original “Dear Donna” at Nurse.com, Author, and Motivational Speaker
Donna Cardillo, RN, CSP is The Inspiration Nurse. She is a powerhouse of energy, wisdom, humor, and solid content and has been referred to as a positive force of nature who lights a path for others to follow. She is an expert blogger at DoctorOz.com and the original “Dear Donna” columnist at Nurse.com.
Keynote Speaker
Donna travels the world inspiring and empowering women and healthcare professionals to move beyond fear and live and work to their highest potential. She does that as a keynote speaker, columnist, author, and cut-up. Her accomplished career combines over 25 years of clinical, managerial and business experience, not to mention her stint as a professional singer. Donna’s clinical experience includes emergency and psychiatric nursing.
Healthcare Careers Expert
Donna holds a diploma in nursing, a BS in Health Care Management and an MA in Corporate and Public Communication. She was formerly known as the “Healthcare Careers Expert” at Monster.com. She holds the coveted Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, the highest earned international recognition for professional speakers. Only 10% of all speakers hold this designation. She is one of only 25 nurses in the world with this credential. Donna was recently selected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and will be inducted in October 2018.
Awards
Donna has twice been named NJ Business Woman of the Year and has also received the coveted Athena Award, a national leadership award for women. Donna was designated a Diva in Nursing by the Institute for Nursing in NJ for outstanding achievements and excellence in practice. She has also been named one of 50 Best Women in Business by NJBIZ.
Media
Donna appears regularly on television and radio, is frequently quoted in newspapers and magazines and has published numerous articles. Donna has appeared on The Doctor Oz Show and the Today show and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times.]
Books
Donna is author of the books, Falling Together–How to Find Balance, Joy and Meaningful Change When Your Life Seems to be Falling Apart, Your First Year as a Nurse – Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional, The ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses – Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career, and A Day Book for Beginning Nurses.
Affiliations
Donna is a founding member and past president of the NJ Chapters of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). Donna is a volunteer lecturer and facilitator for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. When she is at her home base in Sea Girt, NJ, she serves as a local spokesperson for family caregivers.
Donna Cardillo Speaking Topics
Regaining Joy and Balance to Move Forward - How Nurses/Healthcare Staff Can Refresh, Regroup, and Re-energize
Times have been tough and nurses/healthcare professionals are just emerging from one of their greatest challenges ever. Having recently celebrated the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, it’s only fitting that we ask ourselves: What would Florence do? Join Donna as she channels Flo for an inspirational and practical program to lift you up and get you back on track. Participants will learn how to: • Cultivate resilience • Restore wellbeing • Adapt to a culture of constant change • Promote positivity in the midst of challenge • Empower themselves for future success The presentation would be targeted to the leadership team as well as how they can promote the concepts to their team and in the workplace.
Staying Joyfully Engaged at Every Stage of Your Career
Florence Nightingale said, “Nursing should not be a sacrifice, but one of the highest delights of life.” Staying fully engaged and happy through the continuum of your career is vital to your success, your effectiveness as a healthcare professional, and even your health. Spend a fun, energetic, and practical session with The Inspiration Nurse as we explore ways to pump up the volume in your career…and your life! Participants will learn: • Strategies to stay engaged and energized at every stage of your career. • Ways to be a catalyst for positive change • Methods to maximize multigenerational teams
Nursing – The Future is Ours!
Nursing and healthcare stand at the precipice of radical change. As such, a unique opportunity presents itself for us to take on a larger and more pivotal role in healthcare beyond anything that most of us could have ever imagined. As this new role takes shape, nurses will need to change their way of seeing themselves, their profession, and their capabilities. It’s time to stop whining and start owning our power! Participants will learn: • What’s in store for the healthcare delivery system over the next 20 years • Why nursing must reinvent itself • How nursing will evolve into a ‘superpower’ in healthcare • Which behaviors, mindsets, and patterns no longer serve us • How to get in shape to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future
Passionate Leadership: Soaring to New Heights
Today’s nursing leaders are challenged like never before. At the same time they are in a unique position to have greater impact on the future of nursing and of healthcare. So how can you stay inspired and continue to grow and evolve as a leader when chaos reigns, morale is low and change is a constant? Spend a high-content, high-fun hour (or longer) with The Inspiration Nurse and get primed, pumped-up and supercharged for the coming decade! Participants will learn to: • Identify and avoid the perils and pitfalls of being an experienced leader • Create physical and emotional accessibility • Stay relevant and inspired year after year • Self-manage to support your success
The Power of Resilience
Challenge, change, and chaos has become the order of the day in our personal and professional lives. So how can you meet them head on and bounce back better and stronger rather than being overwhelmed? Donna will show you how to foster strategies to respond positively to change, adversity and stress while developing a sense of mastery, confidence, and personal power. Learn to turn challenges that threaten to knock us to the ground into the building blocks we need to become more successful, more joyful, and ultimately, more alive. Participants will learn to: • Build personal power and confidence • Embrace change • Approach life with a positive perspective • Develop habits to nurture and nourish self
Nurse Power! - Harnessing the power, the passion, and the pride of nursing
This uplifting program is designed to remind nurses of their own greatness and empower them for future success. It’s guaranteed to make nurses feel good and proud about who they are, what they do, and how they contribute to healthcare. Get ready to be pumped up, turned on, and super-charged with Nurse Power! Participants will learn: • What they already have going for them • How nurses have already changed the face of healthcare • How to be a nursing advocate • Techniques for assertive behavior/communication • Strategies for elevating the profession to new heights
Donna Cardillo Books
Falling Together: How to Find Balance, Joy, and Meaningful Change When Your Life Seems to be Falling Apart
Purchase BookYour 1st Year As a Nurse: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional
Purchase BookThe ULTIMATE Career Guide for Nurses: Practical Advice for Thriving at Every Stage of Your Career
Purchase BookDonna Cardillo Videos
Donna Cardillo Speaker Testimonials
“Thank you for providing us with excellent presentations for Nurses’ week this year. The feedback we received from staff was very positive! Your ability to identify the struggles and challenges we are all facing in healthcare, and share realistic approaches to help us deal with these challenges, was really quite amazing! You have been able to give us clear guidance in navigating our future with many issues, including those of the heart. Thank you for your time, good humor, warmth, and professionalism.”
- | Patient Care Director Behavioral Health, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
"Thank you, thank you and thank you for the joy you brought to so many in Austin last Friday. I am SO pleased that you joined us for our annual Nursing Symposium and contributed in a significant way to the success that day. Verbal feedback was extremely positive; and the written evaluations certainly confirm that with numerous positive comments like “she is great,” “excellent speaker,” love her,” “great catch,” “inspirational,” “very fun & energetic,” and “thoroughly enjoyed this speaker,” just to cite a few. The planning team and I are just thrilled with how everything went so smoothly. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Texas and that you will join us again in the future."
- | Director, The Center for Nursing Research, SETON Family of Hospitals
“Thank you for a magnificent presentation. Your seminar was just what we needed: engaging, encouraging, and packed full with vital information that was timely and specific. You did all this in a style that was dynamic and of good humor. You immediately built trust and everyone felt your genuine friendship.”
- | Catholic Medical Center