higher ed – Devon Berry

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 is a nurse, a scholar, and a committed family man residing in Portland Oregon. In his career he has served in several universities including Cedarville University, University of Cincinnati, Wright State University, and most recently Devon Berry served as the Executive Associate Dean at the Oregon Health and Science University. Living in the Pacific Northwest, nurse Devon Berry has taken up nature photography as a pastime.

Over the past year, Devon has committed to posting an original photo every business day on Instagram. He often photographs flowers, trees, leaves, sunsets, sunrises, and other parts of the natural world. Year-round, most of Berry’s photographs are taken within walking distance of his home. His daily walks are part exercise, part meditation, and part photography. One of the greatest lessons Berry has learned through this ritual is how to look for beauty.

Devon Berry believes that looking for beauty requires a committed mindset. If you are not actively looking for beauty, he says, you will miss it every time. As a prior associate dean in nursing, Devon Berry has brought this discipline to his professional life. The professional world, like the natural world, is filled with beautiful moments. Instead of dew on a blade of grass or yellowing moss on a fence post, it is an act of kindness, a display of courage, or an expression of humility. Learning to see the professional world through this lens reduces stress and improves creativity. It is a practice that all can benefit from.

Tag: higher ed

Nurse Devon Berry on Preventing Burnout

Devon Berry, nursing leader, on finding beauty