Lisa Purser is the Patient Care Manager for IP3 Integrate Integrated Pediatric Pain & Palliative Care
Here's what Lisa’s nominators have to say about her:
“Lisa is a champion of our IP3 service, alongside the other services that she manages. During my time at UCSF, IP3 has tremendously grown under her direction.” Luvleen Kaur, IP3
“Lisa Purser has been an integral part in building our Integrated Pediatric Pain & Palliative care program into what it is today. Her direction has guided so many to work towards an amazing vision for care for the pediatric patients and their families. Her leadership and passion are inspiring and she even finds time to volunteer at EVERY UCSF BENIOFF CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL fundraiser!!!” Nikki Tobia, Special Events
Tell us about your UCSF journey: 24 years ago, I began my career at UCSF. As a bedside nurse, I worked with an amazing team of nurses who took me under their wing and instilled several beliefs and values that shaped the nurse I am today: teamwork is key to success, trust your colleagues, always listen, be flexible, ask questions, utilize your resources, and most importantly, the patient/family always comes first (no matter how busy you are). I quickly learned my passion was in pain management and palliative care. Eager to learn how the system worked, I joined the hospital pain committee and the pediatric palliative care committee. I became a nurse manager because I wanted to improve the quality of care we delivered at the bedside for our...
Jessica Opoku-Anane is an Assistant Professor of Gynecology, and Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery and Director of the UCSF Center for Endometriosis.
What advice would you give to a woman entering your field today? Live with integrity, do your best and always follow your passion. It will not only define the best path forward but offer you the greatest possible success.
What’s your role at UCSF and what is your favorite part about it? Every day I wake up happy that I have the job of my dreams and it literally is. Most nights I dream about ways to improve work, not just for myself, but for thousands. I support UCSF in engaging its most valued asset (its people) to fulfill its mission of advancing healthcare worldwide. As a servant leader, I do this by envisioning a future others want to follow; defining a path by strategically outlining our department’s priorities; and connecting with other departments and areas to build partnerships. This enables the highly respected, valued, and proven Learning and Organization Development team of experts that I serve to excel. Together we create interventions and solutions that build staff engagement and joy in work in order to meet the learning and professional development needs of individual contributors, managers, and teams at UCSF. In short, every day, I leverage my strengths and talents to do what I love to do and to help others do the same.
How do you think the role of women in the workforce has changed throughout your career? When I began my career, the glass ceiling was lower than it is today and there was an expectation that women in leadership positions dress and behave as close to the image...
Why did you decide to join Women of UCSF’s team of volunteers? I saw other Bay Area organizations take on a deliberate effort to support women and the impact that it had on individual women that I knew personally. It made me think about how great it would be if UCSF could have that same impact for women in our community. With the group of volunteers leading this effort, I am certain that is the case!
What’s your role at UCSF and what is your favorite part about it? I’m the Chief Strategy Officer for UCSF Health and in this role get to work with the most amazing colleagues to design and implement an exciting vision for our future. I love everything that has to do with the growth of our missions - especially insuring that those who are the most sick - can find their way to us for care when they need it.
Can you tell us about an important role model or mentor in your life? I’ve been fortunate to have many great role models and mentors throughout my career. Each of them had more confidence in my ability than I had in my own and helped me to grow into new roles with tremendous support and coaching. The most important advice I have been given by a mentor was to find an organization that shares your personal values and mission and then stick to these values everyday. It is much easier to face tough challenges and remain motivated when you believe in what your organization is trying to accomplish.
What advice would you give yourself early on in your career? ...
What do you like to do outside of work? I recently got back into gardening which I love because it’s an activity that involves planning. You need to have a strategy, educate yourself, gather your ingredients and then go for it. Some things come together, which is lovely, and some plants don’t work. It’s part of the learning. In particular, I love growing orchids because orchids require patience, and in healthcare we have to have patience. We have to have a sense of urgency, but patience is important as well.
As many people know, I’m a total dog lover. Right now I’m doing agility training with my dog Salsa because he is older, and we have to keep his brain going, just like I'm older and have to keep my brain going! It requires him to have a sense of balance on a balance beam or go through poles or tunnels. I see him figuring out the best way to get there for the treat. And it’s just like how I need to always figure things out and get better - continuous improvement. I think animals provide such a great balance to people's lives
I also love coffee and not just for drinking, I truly admire the art of making coffee and what it brings in terms of social needs. Coffee helps create moments, whether it’s enjoying a morning coffee or how it might uplift you in the afternoon.
What's an issue you think remains overlooked or under-addressed in terms of women in the professional world? People think we have arrived when there’s one woman at the table or on a committee, and that’s not the point...