Dr. Devon Berry is a nursing leader, educator, consultant, and organizationalist. Serving most recently as the Executive Associate Dean at the OHSU School of Nursing in Portland, OR, he is currently taking a mid-career “gap year” to pursue an MBA, establish a digital publishing footprint, reflect on career goals, and spend time with family. Nurse Devon Berry believes that taking time to step back from the intensity of professional life is key to stepping forward in professional success.
Devon Berry believes that too few professionals take time to step back and evaluate their professional journey to the detriment of their own quality of life. Dr. Berry shares that this may lead to a professional sense of burnout evidenced by personal dissatisfaction with job performance, lack of fulfillment or meaning in the job setting, and a negative outlook on one’s own job environment. As an organizational leader, prior associate dean, and nurse, Devon Berry believes that the best treatment is prevention. He has witnessed many colleagues who suffer, for years at times, due to the overwork and high-stress levels associated with academic life.
While many things can be done to promote burnout prevention in this setting, Dr. Devon Berry believes that a key role a leader must play is in creating a culture that normalizes the behavior of taking extended breaks from work. As good leaders will confirm, happy and rested employees are far more productive than unhappy and tired employees. In the world of academic nursing where the pressure of deadlines and production are never-ending, Nursing leader Devon Berry strives to create such environments by both encouraging and supporting time off for employees as well as setting the example of taking time off himself.
Devon Berry 