The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is pleased to announce Ellen Swartwout, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, GCDF, as the director of the Certification Program. Ms. Swartwout has most recently served as the director of the ANCC Pathway to Excellence® and Pathway to Excellence in Long Term Care™ Programs.
Under her leadership, the Pathway programs have seen significant growth in both numbers and stature. Ms. Swartwout was responsible for all aspects of the development, launch, and administration of the programs. The goal of the Pathway to Excellence Program is to recognize organizations that have implemented the foundational elements of positive work environments where nurses can flourish. The award substantiates the professional satisfaction of nurses and identifies best places to work.
"Ellen's strong strategic experience will help her guide the Certification Program to new heights. She is the ideal person to lead the program through the implementation of the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education. We welcome her to her new role as the director of the Certification Program," said ANCC executive director Karen Drenkard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.
Ms. Swartwout had a distinguished career as a nurse and an administrator, rising through the ranks at Inova Health System. At Inova Fairfax Hospital, Ms. Swartwout served as a critical care staff nurse, director of the cardiac critical care division, and administrative director for the organization. In her most recent role at Inova, Ms. Swartwout, in collaboration with the system CNO, was responsible for developing, creating, and directing the professional practice department for nursing. In this role, she assisted the chief nurse executive team for the Inova Health System in the development and implementation of numerous programs to enhance nursing practice, education, and research.
While at Inova, Ms. Swartwout was responsible for leading and supporting many nursing strategic planning efforts including: creating a systemwide nursing clinical ladder program, developing an integrated clinical policy team, overseeing the development of a nursing research agenda, and co-authoring of a successful nursing HRSA grant to improve nurse retention.
Throughout her career, Ms. Swartwout has been involved with the mentoring and development of nurses. She led the design and implementation of a nursing career development center that now reaches more than 1,200 nurses annually. She led the effort to create a nurse extern program for student nurses that has assisted with new graduate nurse recruitment. Ms. Swartwout secured funding and developed programs for youth nursing exploration camps that demonstrated an improved image of nursing among participants. In addition, she served as adjunct faculty at George Mason University College of Health and Human Services, teaching a biostatistics course that prepares graduate students to apply statistical methods to quantitative analysis of healthcare issues.
Ms. Swartwout is working toward a PhD in nursing, with a focus on administration, policy and leadership at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. She earned an MSN in nursing administration from George Mason University and a BSN from the College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State College) in Trenton, NJ. She was elected to membership in the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society. She is ANCC board-certified as a Nurse Executive, Advanced, and received her certificate as a Global Career Development Facilitator issued by the National Board for Certified Counselors.
Ms. Swartwout began work with the Certification Program on January 17, 2011.