Rutgers School of Nursing Magazine - Summer 2024

R U T G E R S N U R S I N G S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 6 / 7 LEAVING AN INDELIBLE MARK ON NURSING L E A D E R S H I P E X C E L L E N C E A L EADER OF L EADERS : L Linda Flynn’s calling arrived in the form of a book— specifically, a Little Golden Book titled Nurse Nancy . It came with a packet of candy pills and a Band-Aid, which the five- year-old thought “was just the coolest thing.” But even more impressive was the book’s plot, in which Nancy’s friend takes a tumble and skins his knee. Decades later, Flynn can still quote the line that followed the fall: “But Nancy was a nurse, and she knew what to do.” “I said to myself, ‘Well, that’s what I want to be. People get hurt, and I want to help them get back up.’” Throughout her 52-year career, including 30 years as a practicing nurse (many of those years in community health), Linda Flynn, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been doing just that, not only helping patients get back up but also elevating the profession of nursing. She will retire on August 19, leaving a legacy of excellence in research, leadership, and patient care. At Rutgers School of Nursing, she has served as director of research, senior associate dean of nursing science, interim dean, and in 2020, after a national search, dean. As a leader, Flynn has advanced the field of nursing and promoted the importance of nurses, in health care and in academia. An undergraduate drama class propelled her onto that path. “My drama professor had a PhD, but my nursing professor didn’t,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘Hmm, this is problematic.’ So very early on I was on the bandwagon that if you’re going to teach nursing at a university, you need to have a doctorate.” B Y L E S L I E G A R I S T O P F A F F R T R S I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 2 4 4 / 5