Melissa Kline, DNP, RN, did not intend to go into leadership when she started as a staff nurse at Cleveland-based MetroHealth. But over the last 20 years, she realized leadership is where she belonged.
"I love taking care of our patients and I really liked learning about how the unit functions," she told Becker's. "I started by helping schedule nurses, then became a charge nurse, and I got involved in different councils to develop performance improvement projects. That's when I realized I like doing that sort of thing."
Dr. Kline started as an assistant manager in 2003 and made her way up until she became chief nursing officer in 2015.
"I never said no to an opportunity," she said. "When our CEO at the time asked me if I was interested in being chief nurse, all of a sudden I knew that's what I wanted to do. I hadn't set out for that position, but I said yes to it without knowing the salary. I just wanted to lead our nursing staff."