Taking Nursing to the Next Level

For Katie Mattingly, BSN, RN, the call to pursue nursing — and leadership — was simply in her blood. 

“A family member and her husband were both nurses, and they helped guide me to the career path,” Katie said. “Once I got into the field, I kept getting placed in positions of leadership, such as being a charge nurse. Mentoring felt natural.” 

Katie launched her nursing career in 2011, when she began work as an LPN. One year later, with additional training, she moved into an RN role, steadily working her way up the nursing ranks at local health care facilities.  

Throughout Katie’s nursing journey, one principle has remained consistent: She has always considered being an educator part of her job description. 

“As nurses, we’re meeting patients and their families at different points in their lives —they have different backgrounds and different education levels,” Katie said. “When patients don’t understand something, nurses are really great about bringing things to their level so they can understand.”  

By 2016, Katie’s professional dedication had caught the attention of a neighboring health care facility, who reached out to her with an opportunity to become their director of nursing.  

“After taking that position, my career snowballed into me being in other director, supervisory roles,” Katie said. “I’ve been doing that kind of work ever since.”  

In 2023, Katie joined the Flaget Memorial Hospital team, overseeing the intensive care unit (ICU), transitional care unit (TCU) and med-surg areas. In her role as inpatient nursing supervisor, she is responsible for ensuring that details such as bed placements and patient transitions are running smoothly. However, she also relishes the chance to roll up her sleeves at the bedside when needed. 

“I like that I get to go on the floor and do hands-on tasks with the nurses, aides and patients. It goes a long way as a leader to show that you are willing to get in the trenches with your team,” Katie said. “I still get to utilize my skills and also have the ability to step back and do the managerial aspect of my work and make a positive impact on the unit as a whole.” 

When she is not working, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, ages 4 and 7. In addition to engaging with her kids’ activities, Katie enjoys gardening, canning, and reading adventure and mystery novels.