Brenda Nevidjon
Brenda Nevidjon grew up in Connecticut. She attended Duke University School of Nursing where she attained a Bachelor’s degree in 1972. From 1972 to 1975, she worked as a nurse at Duke University Medical Center. In 1975, she spent a year as a staff nurse in Basel, Switzerland. In 1978, while working as a staff nurse on the Pulmonary Unit at Duke, she completed an MSN from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a specialty in Psychiatric Nursing. From 1978 to 1981, she worked on the Cancer Research Unit at Duke.
From 1981 to 1984, she worked in various positions in the Cancer Control Agency in Vancouver, British Columbia. From 1985 to 1991, she worked in Oncology Nurse positions at Providence Seattle Medical Center (now Swedish/Cherry Hill), the University of Washington, and Virginia Mason Medical Center.
In 1991, Brenda Nevidjon returned to Duke. From 1994 to 1996, she served in several administrative roles, including Senior Associate Chief Operating Officer of Patient Care Services. In 1996, she became the first nurse and first woman to be named the Chief Operating Officer of Duke University Hospital, a position she held until 2000. She also served as Professor in the School of Nursing from 2005-2014, becoming Professor Emeritus in 2014.
In 2014, Brenda Nevidjon became the CEO of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), a professional association of close to 40,000 members committed to promoting excellence in oncology nursing and quality cancer care.
Ms. Nevidjon has extensive book, journal, and chapter publications, and has served in key leadership positions with numerous professional associations and received several honors recognitions including:
- Duke School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award
- ONS Trish Greene Quality of Life Memorial Lectureship
- American Nursing Association’s Honorary Recognition Award
- Past President of the Oncology Nursing Society
- President-Elect of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care
- Fellow, American Academy of Nursing
- Fellow, Inaugural Class of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program
- Johnson and Johnson/Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nurse Executives
- Trustee, Association of Community Cancer Centers
- Member, Institute of Medicine’s National Cancer Policy Forum Board, American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International, and the Council for Graduate Education for Administration in Nursing
Interview
This oral history interview was conducted with Brenda Nevidjon on July 13, 2005 by Jessica Roseberry.