Ensuring Excellence

As executive director of nursing practice, education and research for UCLA Health’s Center for Nursing Excellence, Dr. Jessica Phillips (MSN ’08, PhD ’23) ensures that there are structures and processes in place for lifelong learning to cultivate excellence in nursing practice and produce the best outcomes for patients. This includes evidence-based policies, educational infrastructure that guides the delivery of clinical care, and a research infrastructure that supports clinical nurses as they pursue and disseminate research. Phillips also leads the process of obtaining Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the credentialing arm of the American Nurses Association. 

“Over her 10-year tenure at UCLA Health, Jessica has played a pivotal role in shaping nursing practice,” says Dr. Karen Grimley, chief nursing executive for UCLA Health. “Her expertise spans professional development, evidence- based practice, nursing transitions, teaching methodologies, and the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as virtual reality and simulation. Her commitment is evident in her contributions to the Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development, 6th edition, and the recent publication of three significant manuscripts.”

With a master ’s in education, Phillips started her career as a health sciences instructor in secondary and higher education. She was an educator in the U.S. and abroad, including with Teach For America.

“I realized I wanted to do more in terms of making a community-level impact and applied to the Master’s Entry Clinical Nursing program at UCLA,” she says. “I pursued that and never looked back. I really felt like nursing was a calling.” 

Phillips practiced clinically in oncology and infectious diseases at Cedars-Sinai before transitioning into operational leadership. She started doing informal support of education at Cedars and found the development side of nursing compelling. 

She transitioned back to UCLA as a nursing professional development specialist, leading the UCLA Nurse Residency Program in 2014. “The program has received Practice Transition Accreditation Program designation from ANCC twice with distinction,” Phillips notes. She was promoted to manager of nursing professional development in 2017, where she established the current educational infrastructure for UCLA Health and led PPE and COVID education, as well as supporting training for diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

After publication of a simulation pilot in 2018, Phillips ignited a passion for research and decided to pursue her PhD beginning in 2020 in order to grow and develop as a nurse scientist. In the UCLA School of Nursing PhD program, “faculty did such a nice job of sequentially aligning coursework so I could continue to take steps toward formalizing my own research,” she says. 

Phillips completed her PhD in three years while continuing to work full time. She received UCLA Nursing’s PhD Dissertation Award in 2023 for Impact of a Virtual Reality Simulation Modality Compared to Traditional Education on Nurse Knowledge, Nurse Behavior, and C’difficile Rates: A Randomized Controlled Trial and ROI Analysis. 

“The educational training I received at the UCLA School of Nursing has prepared me to address the current challenges in nursing at a health system level,” Phillips says. “I am grateful for the time and dedication of faculty to support my aspirations and goals.”