This week is National Nurses Week. Astellas’ own Nancy Tan, associate director of Clinical & Care Quality, shares her career path and talks about her experience at Astellas in our latest feature story.

Q: Talk about your current role at Astellas. What do you enjoy the most about the work you do?

I listen to the needs of our customers and then work to find ways to create resources and solutions to meet their needs. I love that I’m always learning and innovating, and that my team is helping to ensure Astellas offers the most useful resources for healthcare providers, patients and caregivers. That what we’re developing is actually helping providers better serve patients. It’s also part of my job to make sure everyone at Astellas realizes the impact of us has on the patient experience. Whether you’re in finance or sales, the work you do affects the patients we serve.

Q: It’s National Nurses Week. Who are the other nurses at Astellas and how often do you get to interact with them?

I developed the Astellas Nursing Coalition within a couple of months of joining the team. Our 30 current members connect monthly via a virtual meeting. Right now, we’re advising various brand marketing teams on what resources are needed and helping to ensure those resources have an elevated provider, patient and caregiver focus. It’s a meaningful way to collaborate and share our expertise.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your career in nursing. How did that work lead to your expertise in quality care?

I’ve been a nurse for 40 years, starting out in critical care. While I loved getting to know my patients, I always felt like there had to be a better way to care for them. It would take so long to get things for patients they needed immediately. My strong interest in providing quality care drew me to become certified in Quality Improvement. I learned there’s a science behind quality improvement and that nurses, as scientists, could affect system-wide change.

Q: Got any tips or advice on how we can all show nurses the love this week?

Nurses add value to the Astellas organization. Outside of Astellas, they’re the ones on the ground supporting and caring for patients. It’s no surprise that for the 17^th year in a row, RNs have topped the list of the most honest, ethical and trusted professions in the 2018 Gallup poll.

The best thing you can do is to engage with us and use our expertise to improve the work you do. If you’re looking for other ideas the American Nurses Associaton website has more ways you can honor nurses this week.