Heather Warlan Receives UC San Diego Health Nurse Leader Award

Heather Warlan, PhD, RN, CPHQ, NEA-BC, received the Barbara Tate Scholarship from NEF in 2012 while pursuing her doctorate at the University of San Diego. Heather is now Assistant Director of Nursing Education, Development, and Research at UC San Diego Health and, in May this year, she received the health system’s Nurse Leader of the Year award. This award recognizes her “transformational leadership and sustained, measurable impact on nursing education, professional development, Magnet excellence, and organizational performance” (UC San Diego Health). 

In her role, Heather has led major program redesigns that improved quality, scalability, and fiscal stewardship—most notably the ICU Boot Camp overhaul, which saved over $30,000 in 2025 while maintaining strong clinical preparation. Transformational, data‑driven improvements such as the streamlined mentoring platform and a comprehensive certification strategy drove measurable gains, including surpassing Magnet certification goals and increasing mentor‑mentee engagement. As Director of the Nurse Residency Program, she strengthened outcomes, secured CMS funding, and achieved retention and turnover rates that consistently outperformed national benchmarks. 

Heather is an Advisory Board Member for the MSN-Nurse Leadership program at the University of San Diego. Her recent publication includes “Enhancing a Preceptor Program: Theory, Frameworks, and Practical Strategies to Increase Preceptor Satisfaction and Improve Retention” with Abrahim and Rodelo in the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development (2025).

When asked how an NEF scholarship affected her path as a nurse leader, Heather said, “Receiving an NEF scholarship gave me the financial support to dedicate additional time to collecting prospective data for my research. It also enabled me to publish two papers from my doctoral dissertation—an essential step in establishing my scholarly voice and contributing new knowledge to the nursing profession. The visibility and experience gained through these publications accelerated my leadership trajectory, opening doors to roles where I now guide nursing education programs and research initiatives. The NEF scholarship did more than fund my studies; it helped lay the foundation for my career and empowered me to make a meaningful, lasting contribution to nursing.”