If member engagement in professional associations is truly in decline as the ASAE* suggests, then somebody forgot to let TANA’s Jordan Hollinshead, DNAP, CRNA, APN, in on the secret.
Just four and a half years after graduating with her doctorate from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, the 32-year-old cardiac anesthesia specialist recently became TANA’s FY2025 president elect and looks forward to beginning her term as TANA president a year from now.
“I guess you could say I’m driven, sometimes to a fault,” Jordan replied when asked for one word that describes her best. “I’ve always had a goal I’m working toward ever since I can remember.”
Jordan’s mom, Sherry Sanderson, who is also a nurse, knew this about her daughter early on. “My Mom was the person who influenced my career choice more than anyone else,” Jordan said. One of Jordan’s passions was also influential. “I played on the golf team for four years at Charleston Southern where I got my BSN,” she said, admitting with a laugh that she had just finished hitting balls at the driving range prior to her Center Stage interview. “I knew I wanted to go into healthcare, but I was having trouble deciding between nursing and medicine. The schedule for clinicals in the nursing program gave me the best opportunity to make golf practice in the afternoon, so that was a determining factor for me. Clinicals in the morning, golf in the afternoon!”
It was her mom, though, who pointed her toward anesthesia. “She told me ‘I know you. You’re not going to be content with ‘regular nursing.’” Sherry suggested that Jordan look into nurse anesthesia and connected her with an anesthesiologist colleague and friend, Dr. Melissa Rose. “Dr. Rose set me up to shadow her and a CRNA she worked with. They told me the ins and outs of being a CRNA. That was the beginning.”
Today Jordan manages the Cardiac Anesthesia Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville where she has worked since June 2020. She said there’s nothing that compares with getting to see the transplant patients when they come back. “Sometimes you see a patient in the OR and think to yourself ‘This person’s so sick! How are they going to make it?’ Then you see them in the cardiology offices heading to a follow-up appointment and your just amazed. It’s even better if you have a chance to exchange a few words with them, ask them how they’re doing. That’s very gratifying.”
She also finds tremendous gratification and enjoyment throwing herself into volunteering for TANA and supporting her profession.
“I would definitely call it ‘fun’ to be involved with TANA,” Jordan said. “Getting motivation from like-minded individuals who are crushing it in your profession is fun. Meeting CRNAs from all over the country is fun. Learning new tips and tricks from other CRNAs is fun. It’s all very inspiring.”
Jordan’s first involvement in TANA occurred soon after moving back to her native Nashville from Charleston. She joined the state association in 2020 and was quickly asked by the Board to serve on the TANA-PAC. Doubtless her experience as a student member on the AANA-PAC in FY2019 got her noticed by the TANA leadership!
She spent a year on TANA-PAC before the opportunity to serve on the TANA Board of Directors presented itself. TANA’s District 3 director, who Jordan knew and had a good relationship with, had received a job offer in another state and asked her if she’d be interested in finishing the second year of his 2-year term. With the Board’s approval, Jordan stepped into the role. She was re-elected for a full 2-year term in 2022, which just concluded at the TANA Annual Meeting.
“I was a little nervous, but it was such a huge growing opportunity,” Jordan said of her whirlwind accension to the TANA BOD as District 3 director. “It’s TANA’s largest district, with the state capitol right in the middle of everything. There was a lot of figuring out what to do—what works and what doesn’t—a lot of trial and error.”
She calls her biggest “win” identifying the key contributors throughout the district. “You find 10, then they pull in who they know and you’re up to 50, then they pull in who they know and you’re up to 100, and so it goes,” she explained. “I plan to pass along my list of key contributors to the director who replaces me to make their life a little easier.”
For Jordan, the most rewarding thing about her time on the TANA BOD so far has been “working with CRNAs heavy into the advocacy.” To say that her experiences on the BOD, TANA-PAC, AANA-PAC, and the AANA Government Relations Committee in FY2023 have piqued her interest in advocacy and lobbying would be an understatement.
“It’s so important to grow strong relationships with as many legislators as you can,” she said. “In session, I visit them in their offices on my off days. When they’re not in session, I send them stuff about our state meeting, stay in touch, or invite some to coffee to explain who CRNAs are and what we do.”
The former collegiate golfer maintains a unique perspective on lobbying and advocacy, comparing it to what she experienced in golf tournaments. “The entire process is very strategic and yet you have to be ready to make adjustments as needed,” she said. “And then when you win, you get a little dopamine kick out of it—just like I felt when my college team won a golf tournament. We had a great TANA Day on the Hill this year, and to have legislators agree that ‘your profession is important’ is incredibly satisfying.”
The communications and relationship-building, Jordan said, are critically important when key issues affecting the nurse anesthesia profession require immediate attention. But also knowing how sensitive some of these issues can be, she expresses a deep appreciation for her work environment and her physician colleagues in particular.
“The anesthesiologists in our group at Vanderbilt are generally understanding about my activities on the hill,” she said. “Some have a ‘do what you gotta do’ attitude and others simply don’t want to talk about it. I’m grateful for the space and careful not to make a big deal of out of anything.”
Jordan credits MUSC Program Administrator and AANA Past-President Angie Mund, DNP, CRNA, and TANA Past-President Jim Alberding, DNP, CRNA, APN, for their roles in helping develop her passion for lobbying and advocacy. “Dr. Mund sent our cohort to AANA’s Mid-Year Assembly and I absolutely loved it!” she recalled. “And I’ve known Jim since joining TANA. He’s a terrific mentor and fantastic to lobby with.”
Along with TANA member Gale Rowe, DNAP, CRNA, APN, Jordan is “paying it forward” as co-coordinators of TANA’s Mentorship Program. “I really enjoy the opportunity to mentor and support TANA’s SRNA members,” she said. “Every CRNA should have a mentee, someone who can learn from you. We all have a lot to offer our colleagues, especially those who are just getting started.”
Jordan also has a deep respect for the countless CRNAs who’ve been in the trenches fighting for practice rights and other causes since before she even considered a career in nurse anesthesia. “I’ve learned that the issues never seem to go away,” she said. “I shed a little tear on the inside because it’s perpetual and can be exhausting.”
Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Jordan believes strongly that belonging to and participating in TANA not only helps CRNAs professionally, but personally as well. “Your association ensures that you have a job and can practice the way you want to,” she said. “If you’re going through something, undoubtedly there is someone in the association who has already gone through it. You have this giant extended family—you are not alone.”
*American Society of Association Executives