As the COVID pandemic comes toward an end, nurse leaders are rapidly emerging into a “new normal” of leading health care delivery. One care aspect that accelerated during the COVID and into our new normal was greater adoption and integration of technology. Nurse leaders are uniquely positioned to influence, advocate for, and lead the future of technology integration into health care delivery models. Molly McCarthy, MBA, BSN, RN, RN-BC, the National Director of U.S. Health Providers and Plans at Microsoft, shares how she influences this space as a nurse leader. As the COVID pandemic comes toward an end, nurse leaders are rapidly emerging into a “new normal” of leading health care delivery. One care aspect that accelerated during the COVID and into our new normal was greater adoption and integration of technology. Nurse leaders are uniquely positioned to influence, advocate for, and lead the future of technology integration into health care delivery models. Molly McCarthy, MBA, BSN, RN, RN-BC, the National Director of U.S. Health Providers and Plans at Microsoft, shares how she influences this space as a nurse leader. JB: Molly, can you tell our readers about your journey to the role of National Director of U.S. Health Providers and Plans for Microsoft Health, and some examples of your influence on the company and health care? MM: I have been in health and tech for the majority of my career. I began my career working clinically at the bedside as NICU and pediatric nurse in the Washington, DC area and in Northern California. I was always fascinated with technology at the bedside, and mainly the medical devices. I transitioned from bedside nursing to the medical device industry while finishing my MBA in San Francisco; I worked at Natua Medical, which developed and manufactured devices for neonates—which is where my clinical experience was. I saw the integration of medical devices into hospital networks and electronic health records as the Affordable Care Act came into play—as a critical step in understanding the patient condition and journey. Beyond digitizing the patient record, understanding all of the patient data and information was becoming more significant at that time. In 2013, when I was working in Patient Monitoring and Clinical Informatics at Phillips Healthcare, Microsoft reached out to me and I seized the opportunity—I was curious to learn about their role in health At that time, Microsoft sought to expand their health industry expertise to help drive conversation and develop relationships outside of the traditional information technology [IT] leaders. Health tech decisions were historically made without input from business line leaders or clinical teams, but were becoming critical for the advancement of patient outcomes. I joined Microsoft in June 2013 to help drive this effort and include the clinical decision-makers. During my time at Microsoft, the growth and commitment of Microsoft to health care is outstanding. I began here in an industry role supporting our sellers and customers, and historically, Microsoft had physicians in leadership roles. But our VP of health at the time, Michael Robinson, valued the nursing perspective. Consequently, my role morphed and changed based upon the company's investment in health coupled with my desire to continue to champion for nurses and patients within a big tech company. I believe that clinicians and nurses are integral for the design, development, and deployment of health tech solutions. The voice of the nurse, from the bedside to the boardroom, is significant to the solution or product development process. Nursing inclusion is something that I always champion, from my early career working for medical device companies. I have always positioned myself as facilitating dialogue between the end users, customers, clinicians, and the product software and hardware engineers to ensure we are creating solutions that make sense. JB: How is the voice of nursing and nursing practice represented at a company like Microsoft? MM: At Microsoft, the US health industry team includes professionals with more than 504 years of health and tech experience. We support health providers, health plans, life science and medical technology/device companies by helping with their digital transformation journey, and more specifically, connecting with business line leaders outside of the IT department—to ensure we are having more clinical and operational conversations. We also support our internal Microsoft sellers and product groups through education programs as well as advocating for our customers, and in my case, nurses and clinicians, by representing thier voices around challenges and obstacles. Another component of our role within Microsoft is to connect and influence the health and tech industry. Maintaining connection to my nursing and clinical colleagues is something I value—today and throughout my career. I seek to network with different organizations, peer groups, and early career professionals to better understand the issues and barriers nurses face, as well as innovations and the trajectory of our nursing and health tech workforce. At the beginning of 2020, the Year of the Nurse and Midwife was a campaign Microsoft was poised to support. As the pandemic unfolded, we quickly shifted to accelerate our support of nurses. A career highlight for me was the creation of the NurseHack4Health. In partnership with Johnson and Johnson, SONSIEL (Society of Nurse Scientists Innovators Entrepreneurs & Leaders, a nursing nonprofit organization), and Dev-Up (a tech developer nonprofit), we held a virtual hackathon initially May 13 to 15, 2020, with the goal of bringing together nurses from around the world with tech developers over the weekend to ideate and create minimum viable products. The hack groups examined 4 different areas around the pandemic: remote patient monitoring in the hospital; remote patient monitoring in the home; patient handoff, transfer, and huddle; and nurse resilience. This initial virtual hackathon was conducted on a Microsoft Teams platform, and continues now twice a year with the topical areas changing each time based on the challenges nurses face. We are thrilled to bring together nurses and developers in concert with our partners to ideate and develop solutions. We hope to soon be back in person. However, the advantage of the virtual hackathon is it enables teams from across the globe—6 continents represented! JB: What influence do you have on nursing practice and leadership through your role at Microsoft, and thinking on a more global level, on other companies, organizations, and policies outside of Microsoft? MM: I’ve had the opportunity to speak at many conferences both in the US and globally, which certainly is an honor and responsibility. I also, because of my role at Microsoft, am asked to sit on various committees or projects that influence nursing and women in technology. For example, in 2019, I was honored to speak at the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Future of Nursing 2030 Town Hall on Technology. I was able to provide the perspective of a nurse technologist to the audience and to the NAM panel. In June 2021, I was the keynote speaker at the University of Minnesota “Big Data in Nursing” conference. I typically never say “no” to help advance and inform nursing leaders. I also am a guest lecturer, typically once or twice a semester, at nursing schools. Sometimes, the college students’ only exposure to technology in an undergraduate program is my discussion (which needs to change). I encourage readers, to lead from where you are regardless of your specific title; be a role model—coach and care for those around you. You can be an individual contributor and still be a leader. JB: After the first wave of the pandemic, we saw some health care organizations unable to recover financially, from the amount spent on care delivery and meeting the demands of the pandemic. The larger tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have been and are positioned different financially going into the post-pandemic era seeking growth. What does this mean for the future of nursing jobs, health care jobs, health care seeking, and health care delivery, as we know it? MM: One of the shifts I’ve seen over the last couple of years is Microsoft’s willingness to partner and collaborate. The commitment started with how to better partner internally here at Microsoft, and evolved to how we partner with our health systems, health plans, medical device companies, and life science companies. I've spent the past few years working with health care systems on collaborations, knowing that the problem of health care would not be solved by one entity alone, but by bringing together stakeholders together to collectively problem solve. Microsoft is a platform company, so we also work with many different partners, for example, EMRs, independent software vendors (ISVs), and system integrators, to meet our customers’ goals. I started to see this shift in willingness of all parties to partner before the pandemic and well as continue to today. I think my colleagues are very proud of some of the support we did during the pandemic era. One example is with the Azure Health Bot. The Health Bot serves as a digital front door for patients, providing (at no cost for a period) an opportunity for health consumers to come to a hospital website or even the Centers for Disease Control, and answer questions for COVID-19 self-assessment checker. We launched the initial COVID-19 Health Bot with Providence Saint Joseph’s in Seattle, as they cared for the first US patient in January 2020. Subsequently, the CDC adopted our Microsoft Azure Health Bot, and then grew exponentially throughout the world. This specific use case, a COVID-19 health bot, at the time of this discussion, has over 3,500 instances and over 1 billion messages sent. The other area in which we diligently worked was helping the shift to virtual health—specifically ensuring clinicians and patients could quickly transition from an in-person visit to a synchronous video visit through the use of Microsoft Teams. The shift to video visits enabled care to continue. We had one health system go from 0 virtual visits to 800 visits in 1 day. Helping our customers in this way was very rewarding for our Microsoft employees in a very challenging time. As time moves on, we are committed to supporting hospitals and health care systems on their journey beyond the pandemic. The pandemic was truly an accelerator of technology adoption, and we realize we are not going back to pre-pandemic ways of doing business. In fact, many of the organizations we work with own/license our Microsoft technology, and it’s a matter of getting them to use it to its full capabilities. Remember, technology is not just about technology; it is about people and process, too. Another investment we’ve made at Microsoft is an initiative called AI for Good and AI for Health. Our Microsoft AI for Health program has 4 areas of focus, which include accelerating medical research, increasing global health insights, addressing health equity, and building research capabilities. In addition to these programs, we have a broadband initiative to address the digital divide. Microsoft’s Airband Initiative aims to close the digital divide and bring high-speed Internet connectivity to unconnected communities around the world. It officially launched in 2017 with the goal of bringing broadband connectivity to 2 million people in the US by July 2022. After early success, that goal grew to 3 million people in the US—and an additional 40 million across the globe—by the same deadline. I believe that we at Microsoft are responsible for educating about technology, not just developing and designing. We are invested in reskilling and retraining as a corporate responsibility. We don't want to just put technology out there for technology’s sake; I personally want it to be useful and meaningful. In October 2020,we launched with the American Hospital Association a course in artificial intelligence (AI) in health. I realize it is important to educate key stakeholders and clinical staff on the implications of adopting AI in a health care setting, including the risks and opportunities that accompany it. The course, “AI in Health Care: Leading Through Change,” is a free, 1-credit continuing education course for nurses and physicians as well as hospital administrators. JB: Short term, what do you see as the new normal in nursing practice and leadership? Can you share your thoughts on how current and emerging nurse leaders may better partner with tech companies like Microsoft from positions where nurses are already embedded, to partner and help build a better health care delivery model? MM: I encourage nurses, as a profession regardless of role, to adopt a “learn it all” mindset and to be curious. From my perspective, I welcome the partnership with clinicians and advocate for it within Microsoft, so that we are inclusive in our development of technology solutions. When I work with my internal stakeholders, I push them to be inclusive of clinicians in their customer meetings—not just with the IT department. Now, for our nurses, within your own organization, seek to understand how tech decisions are made, and ensure you advocate for the correct people at the table for those discussions and decisions. The most successful nurses I encounter view IT and vendors as partners and work to build trust for the multi-stakeholder group. That’s why I feel what we do at Microsoft as a corporation, above and beyond tech, is very telling. Relationships are the key to success! JB: How do you see the larger tech companies being integrated into the health care delivery model in the next 5 years? MM: Improving health equity and closing the digital divide in the US and throughout the world. There are still many communities and individuals who don’t have access to computers and cell phones. Technology can help, but only if the infrastructure is in place and the end users understand and are able to use it. We need to do better for our most vulnerable populations. JB: What would you want our readers to know about you, your past experiences, your leadership, or your vision for health care? MM: I am obviously passionate about the intersection of health and tech as I’ve dedicated 27 years to it! I’ve been reflecting on my career journey more recently, and how I choose a career in nursing initially, and then tech. When I was 16, my mom was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, and I watched (and lived) her patient journey over the course of 5 years. I was able to see the challenges and complexities of our family’s interaction with the health system. Unfortunately, my mom passed away in 1993 after my junior year in college. Her journey inspired me to change my major from French to Nursing. I am motivated by my mom’s story and other patients who might not be able to advocate for themselves. That's what drives me every day and keeps me grounded—the desire to improve how patients and families navigate the health system, as well as supporting our clinicians. JB: Thank you for sharing. It is always touching to hear the different calling each of us has had to the nursing profession. MM: That’s really at the heart of what I do. Thank you so much for your time and allowing me to share. Photographer: Julian Thomas Name:Molly McCarthy.Education:BSN, Georgetown University, School of Nursing and Health Studies; MBS, University of San Francisco; Health Coach Certificate, Duke University School of Integrative Medicine.Family:Husband, Paul Beilke, est 2000; son, Brendan Beilke, high school senior (will go to Boston College Fall 2021); son, Sean Beilke, high school freshman; dog, Churro Beilke, Cockapoo, 5 years old.Current job:Microsoft US Health and Life Sciences. Title: National Director, US Health Providers and Plans.First-ever job:Babysitting in my neighborhood.First job in nursing:Georgetown University Medical Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse.Being a leader gives me the opportunity to:Be a pioneer and chart a new path for nursing and health technology.My best advice for aspiring leaders:Be curious and willing to take risks; model, coach, and care from where you currently are in your career/life.My favorite leadership book recommendation:Dare to Lead, Brene Brown.Most people don’t know that I:Finished my first Ironman Triathlon in 2017.One thing I want to do:Live and work in health technology outside the United States for 2 to 3 years.One word to summarize me:Rebel with a cause. Name: Molly McCarthy. Education: BSN, Georgetown University, School of Nursing and Health Studies; MBS, University of San Francisco; Health Coach Certificate, Duke University School of Integrative Medicine. Family: Husband, Paul Beilke, est 2000; son, Brendan Beilke, high school senior (will go to Boston College Fall 2021); son, Sean Beilke, high school freshman; dog, Churro Beilke, Cockapoo, 5 years old. Current job: Microsoft US Health and Life Sciences. Title: National Director, US Health Providers and Plans. First-ever job: Babysitting in my neighborhood. First job in nursing: Georgetown University Medical Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse. Being a leader gives me the opportunity to: Be a pioneer and chart a new path for nursing and health technology. My best advice for aspiring leaders: Be curious and willing to take risks; model, coach, and care from where you currently are in your career/life. My favorite leadership book recommendation: Dare to Lead, Brene Brown. Most people don’t know that I: Finished my first Ironman Triathlon in 2017. One thing I want to do: Live and work in health technology outside the United States for 2 to 3 years. One word to summarize me: Rebel with a cause. John R. Bowles, PhD, RN, CENP, is the Associate Vice President and Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Patient Care Services at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. He can be reached at [email protected] .