Dr. Melanie W. Salsgiver’s nursing and health administration practice spanned academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, and investor-owned health organizations.  As with many nurses, she advanced her career through a variety of positions including: Staff Nurse, Critical Care Flight/Transport Nurse, Director, Chief Nursing Officer/Chief Operating Officer, Division Chief Nursing Executive & Consultant before her pivot to teaching.  While practicing primarily in the US, many of her greatest learnings were experiences with colleagues abroad.  Her practice interests focus on the forces that lend to hospital staff and executive resiliency, and the nurse leader’s role in impacting both.

She is affiliated with several organizations, including the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (STTI). She is dually board certified in Healthcare Management and Patient Safety.

Melanie began to discern a call that ordained ministry was to be her next vocation some years ago and to that end, she retired from working in full-time nursing/leadership in 2021.  In addition to her time in preparation for that next step, she is an active volunteer in the organizations she supports, such as Grace Mission (Tallahassee, FL). However, one of her greatest joys is to be here at FSU and continue mentor the next generation of exceptional nurse leaders!

EDUCATION

Doctor of Nursing Practice/Executive Health System Leadership, Chamberlain University
Master of Science in Health Administration, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Master of Science in Nursing, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Bachelor of Science in Nursing, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Associate in Applied Science, Nursing, Jefferson State Community College

CERTIFICATIONS/LICENSURE

Registered Nurse, State of Florida
Certified Professional in Patient Safety, The Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety
Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives/Board Certified - Healthcare Management, ACHE

HONORS AND AWARDS

Outstanding Student Award, Executive MSHA, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
President, West Central District Organization of Nurse Leaders
Volunteer of the Year, Children’s Miracle Network Pennsylvania
Commitment to Continuous Improvement Award of Excellence/Employee of the Year, UAB Hospital
Professional Nurse Traineeship Recipient, The National Institutes of Health

GRANTS AND SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Grant Recipient/Program Director, March of Dimes Healthy Beginnings Plus Program - Pennsylvania 

Salsgiver, M.W. (2011). Practitioner Application: Does Missed Nursing Care Predict Job Satisfaction?, Journal of Healthcare Management, 56(2):132-133. DOI: 10.1097/00115514-201103000-00008

Salsgiver, M.W. (2017). Intervening on Chief Nursing Officer Turnover [Unpublished doctoral project]. Chamberlain University.