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WITI Museum | Women in Science & Technology Month | 1998 | June 26

Jean Ann Seago, Ph.D., RN
Assistant Professor
University of California, San Francisco
Fields: Nursing Adminstration
Specialty: Organizational behavior, financial management
Nominated by: Self

Excerpt from nomination: Dr. Seago is a new professor at UCSF in the Department of Community Health Systems. After more than twenty years working in hospitals as a clinician and manager, she has moved into a career in academia that includes research and teaching. Her research interests include health care organizations, health care outcomes, and hospital workforce. Her current research projects include a study of preoperative indicators of prolonged post anesthesia care unit length of stay, an evaluation of a major work redesign in an acute care hospital, and using large data bases to study patient outcomes that are related to nursing care delivery systems. Dr. Seago teaches in the graduate program at UCSF, specifically, financial management for nurse administrators, organizational behavior, and organizational redesign.

What was your first job and what did you learn from it?

My first job was as a staff nurse on a medical-surgical oncology acute hospital unit. In addition to all the technical aspects of providing nursing care, I think the main thing I started to learn was how to organize my time so I could get things done.

Who is your hero, mentor or person you most admire? Why?

There are several but one is Dr. Joycelyn Elders. the former surgeon general. I admire her because she was fearless and stood up for what she believed in spite of tremendous pressure.

What are you most proud of (either professionally or personally)?

Personally, I am proud of my daugher, my granddaugher, and my grandson. Professionally, I am proud that I persisted and finally got my Ph.D.

What advice would you give to young women who want to enter your field?

It is a good field in which to work. It offers challenges and enough flexibility for a lifetime's work without boredom.

What is your favorite book?

Different books at different times in my life:

  • In the 60's, I liked Stranger in a Strange Land and Siddhartha;
  • In the 70's, it was the feminist literature by various writers;
  • The 80's was a sort of business/management time and I looked for books like "How to Dress for Success", "Games Mother Never Taught You", The Fifth Discipline, and When Giants Learned to Dance;
  • Now, I like Amy Tan, Tony Morrison, Alice Walker, but I also like Jonathan and Faye Keller, Tony Hillerman, Stephen King, and Michael Crichton.
As you see it is hard to pick one book.

What is your favorite Web site?

Difficult. I use the Web for function rather than entertainment. I use Alta Vista primarily to search and I like UCSF School of Nursing's home page :).

What do you see as the single most interesting element of your work?

My research. I study nursing systems and workforce and their association with patient outcomes.

What was your darkest moment (professionally) and what did you learn from it?

When I was asked to leave a job. I learned that I survive and learn from my mistakes. I also learned that from the greatest adversity, I can find new directions and new hope.

What do you do to relax?

Read, jog, hike in Yosemite and sail on San Franciso Bay.