Return to the Hilltop ‘A Dream Come True’ for New Director of Doctor of Nursing Practice Education

(August 16, 2024) — Stephan Davis, DNP, MHSA, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ, CNE, FACHE, FAAN, who takes over as the Georgetown University School of Nursing’s new director of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education this fall, said returning to Georgetown, where he earned his master’s degree in health systems administration in 2009, “feels like a dream come true.”

“I’ve always loved the Hilltop,” he said. “I cherished my time there as a student and actually worked at Georgetown as director of the Health Workforce Innovation Project. So it’s great to come back after 15 years of being away.”

The fact that Georgetown is situated in Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, serves as an extension of the classroom, Davis said, which he sees as “very rich” for students.

“I just think that Georgetown’s a really unique space, both in terms of the university itself, its location in D.C., and the Jesuit values, which permeate everything that we do at the university,” he added.

Improvising on a Change of Path

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Davis moved to New York City as an undergraduate jazz saxophone major. However, his vision for the road ahead began to shift as courses in anthropology and sociology exposed him to issues that awakened a curiosity about health care and the impact of social determinants of health.

“That’s what led me to nursing,” he explained.

Davis transferred to the University of Maryland in Baltimore and earned his undergraduate nursing degree in 2007. Following his graduate degree at Georgetown, he earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2016 at Yale, focusing on health care leadership, systems and policy. Then, in 2023, he earned a postgraduate certificate in evidence-based teaching in the health professions from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

His career arc during those years has taken him from MedStar Washington Hospital Center in D.C. to New York’s Metropolitan Hospital, the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Georgia State University’s Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions in Atlanta, the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s School of Public Health in Fort Worth, and executive director, assistant and associate dean positions at Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Health Professions and School of Nursing in Richmond.

Staying True

Davis’ roles at VCU focused heavily on diversity, equity and inclusion and inclusive excellence and belonging. He has also served on numerous committees on DEI-related issues at the schools where he’s been on faculty, and is a current member of the American Academy of Nursing’s national DEI committee.

Davis said coming home to Georgetown aligns perfectly with the emphasis on access, advocacy and combating bias — in education as well as in practice — that’s been a large focus of his career. While many other universities have scaled back DEI efforts, Georgetown has remained true to its founding Jesuit values and its commitment to DEI.

“One of our core values is ‘People for Others,’” Davis said. “That’s what we’re cultivating with our students. And I think that it’s for all others. It’s for anyone who’s been othered or excluded.

“I think that Georgetown is a place where we really teach our students that it’s about creating access and cultivating inclusion and belonging for everyone,” he added. “The commitment to health equity and educational access are exemplified through a number of initiatives at Georgetown.”

He credited outgoing program director Peggy Slota, DNP, RN, FAAN, as well as faculty members for establishing Georgetown’s DNP program and added that his own goal is to see it be “the degree program of choice for nurses who want to lead change and transform health care and influence health policy. I really want it to be the destination for nurse leaders.”

The Beat Goes On

Alongside his career, Davis has kept up with the sax and performs as a soloist at special events. While a student at Georgetown, he was one of the featured artists at the university’s “Let Freedom Ring!” celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, performing “Amazing Grace” as a prelude to Aretha Franklin’s finale.

“Nolan Williams Jr. was the music director for that event and continues to serve in this capacity,” Davis said. “He was also the music director for the American Academy of Nursing’s 50th-anniversary celebration, where I had the opportunity to collaborate with him again last year.”

Michael von Glahn
GUMC Communications