Trailblazer Spotlight: Dr. Brittany Hay, assistant professor

“I wanted to help create solutions and not contribute to the problem.”

Dr. Brittany Hay was inspired to become a nurse practitioner to create more autonomy in patient care decisions. Her hope was to eliminate ‘unnecessary layers to decision-making that cause delays and negatively impact patient outcomes and satisfaction,’ she said.

Hay earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Boston University, Master’s of Science in Nursing from Simmons College in Boston and Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of South Florida. She is dual-certified as both an adult and family nurse practitioner.

After more than 15 years of direct care in a variety of primary and post-acute settings from Boston to Central Florida, Hay transitioned her focus into educating future nurse practitioners to meet the primary care needs of their communities. She started her career at the College of Nursing in 2015.

“Together, we can have a greater impact on population health,” she explained.

Dr. Brittany Hay’s December 2021 Nurse Practitioner graduates

Now she is the director of the adult-gerontology primary care and family nurse practitioner concentrations. “I have the pleasure of working with an amazing team of clinician educators who share real-world practice knowledge in the academic setting to prepare a highly skilled advanced practice nurse workforce,” she said.

In 2021, Hay received the Graduate Academic Nurse Educator award. She said the recognition was incredibly gratifying.

“It was an honor to be recognized for contributions to curricular and program design within the graduate clinical programs and facilitation of student development through teaching.”

The year prior, Hay was selected by students to receive the inaugural DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2020. Hay deems this award her biggest professional accomplishment.

“I was educated by a cadre of talented teachers over the years and have wanted to pay it forward,” she said. “I hope that my students will do the same for others someday.”

Her best advice to students: follow your passion. “Careers build over time– each step forward opens new doors of opportunity. Enjoy the journey and keep learning and growing along the way.”

Story by Cassidy Delamarter