Breaking the Mold: Alumni Talk with Mirini Kim

“Nurses are the backbone of health care and it’s time for nurses to be included in the efforts to reimagine health care.”

Mirini Kim

Mirini Kim is a 2020 graduate of the DNP Executive Track program at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. There’s so much more to nursing than hospitals and clinics. In a short Q&A she talks about her non-traditional nursing role as the Director of Nursing at PocketRN.

Tell me about your background.

I am a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner in primary care and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing DNP Executive Track program (class of 2020). Before joining PocketRN, I worked in the bone health program in the orthopedic surgery department, and neuromuscular clinic at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. My clinical practice was focused on children with rare bone disorders, low bone density, and neuromuscular diseases. I also worked in a primary care pediatric practice, where I provided care to families from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, with over 50 percent of families who spoke English as a second language.

What do you do?

Currently, I am the Director of Nursing at PocketRN and lecturer at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. At PocketRN, I oversee the recruitment, training, and onboarding of nurses and help to lead the development of overall company strategy—including the exciting process of designing and developing our digital nurse community. In addition to the clinical and administrative responsibilities of the role, I’ve been thrilled to dive into the health care innovation scene, learning from and about exciting companies across the sector (from big organizations to start-ups). I’ve grown tremendously in this role as it relates to operations, communications, and stakeholder management, and am learning more about business development, user design, and user experience. The work is incredibly fast-paced and fun!

What is PocketRN and what makes you most excited about it?

PocketRN is a virtual nursing platform that connects patients and caregivers to specialty nurses to close the gap between home and health care. What excites me most about PocketRN is that we can offer nurses the flexibility to work when they want, from the comfort of their home, to deliver on-demand care to patients. Prior to working at PocketRN, I never would have thought there was a place for me in a health care start-up. However, I have learned that my experience in nursing provides a valuable perspective in the world of healthcare innovation. It’s been refreshing to be in an environment where nurses are placed at the center of decision-making and thinking about the future of our healthcare system. I’m most excited about the opportunity to bring more nurses along on this journey as we continue to grow.

I never would have thought there was a place for me in a health care start-up. However, my experience in nursing provides a valuable perspective in the world of healthcare innovation.

What is your vision for the future of nursing?  

Recent research from Johnson & Johnson, the American Nurses Association (ANA), and the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) reveals that nurses are looking for more opportunities to lead, influence decisions, innovate, and for more flexible career options. When I began my nursing career, I never thought my work would lead me to virtual nursing or a health care start-up. Like many others, I only considered traditional nursing roles in a hospital or clinic. I can only imagine where I might be today if I had discovered my passion for health care delivery innovation earlier in my career; it makes me think about where health care and nursing education will be one day when nursing students are exposed to the variety of opportunities throughout the health care ecosystem.

Nurses are the backbone of healthcare and it’s time for nurses to be included in the efforts to reimagine healthcare. My vision for the future of nursing is to see more nurses in positions of leadership, an acceleration of nurse-driven innovation, the adoption of more flexible (both lateral and vertical) career options for nurses, and the incorporation of nursing expertise in every arena of health care—and in many cases outside of health care as well.

Reach out to me at [email protected] if you would ever like to chat about healthcare innovation or if you are interested in learning more about PocketRN!

Read more:

• From First-Generation Immigrant to Foster Youth to MSN (Entry Into Nursing) GRADUATE
• A Q&A with Natalie Nicholson and Amanda Wyatt, Native Nurses and DNP Executive Track Students
• What Nourishes the Soul

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SYDNEE LOGAN

Sydnee Logan, MA is the Sr. Social Media and Digital Content Specialist for Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She shares Hopkins Nurses with the world.