160: How Healthcare Leaders Build Trust and Improve Workforce Well-Being

Workforce well-being is not a perk. It is a leadership and organizational strategy that shapes how people experience their work, develop professionally, and provide safe care.

In this episode, Dr. Valerie Morrison, Senior Director of Student Health Services at the University of North Florida, joins Dr. Renee Thompson to explore how leaders can create healthier work environments by listening to teams, acting on data, and building trust through consistent presence. Dr. Morrison shares how a personal loss during her Navy career shaped her commitment to understanding workplace stressors and supporting the whole person. She discusses how the Pathway to Excellence framework helped shift the culture at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, as well as the importance of relational rounding, addressing small barriers, and creating safe spaces for people to ask for help.

Tune in to learn how healthcare leaders can turn data, visibility, and genuine care into a culture where people feel supported and able to thrive.

About Dr. Valerie Morrison:

Dr. Valerie Morrison, DBA, MSN, MSM, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, SHRM-SCP, is the Senior Director of Student Health Services at the University of North Florida. She retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain in 2020 after 30 years of active-duty service and previously served as Chief Nursing Officer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Throughout her career, Valerie has focused on building professional practice environments where nurses and healthcare teams can thrive. She is a past chair of the Commission on Pathway to Excellence with the American Nurses Credentialing Center, serves as President-Elect of the Florida Nurses Association, and contributes to state and national well-being and healthy work environment initiatives. Her leadership centers on service, continuous improvement, and helping organizations create the conditions for better outcomes for both their people and patients.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• Workforce well-being should be embedded in organizational strategy, policies, processes, HR practices, and leadership.

• Leaders should use organizational data to identify patterns, explain how feedback will be used, and follow through on what they hear.

• Relational rounding builds trust through consistent presence, genuine listening, practical support, and recognition.

• Small actions, like removing barriers or remembering personal details, help people feel seen and more willing to speak up.

• Healthy workplaces consider the whole person and recognize the different needs and experiences of their teams.

• Professional development, competence, psychological safety, quality, and collaboration all contribute to thriving healthcare teams.

• Frameworks can reveal strengths and gaps, while investment in people and reliable systems helps address root causes proactively.

Links & Resources:

• Connect with and follow Dr. Valerie Morrison on LinkedIn.

• Email Dr. Morrison at v.morrison@unf.edu.

• Learn more about the University of North Florida Student Health Services.

• Explore the American Nurses Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence Program.

• Explore the American Nurses Association Healthy Work Environment resources, including the Well-Being Excellence framework discussed in this episode.

• Learn more about the Healthy Workforce Framework.

• Learn the 33 Scripts to Address Disruptive Behavior here.

• Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here.

• Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here.

• Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here.

Have a question for Renee?

Email us at wecare@healthyworkforceinstitute.com to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode!

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