Our Leadership: Nicole Johnson, DNP, MBA, RN, NE-BC, CPEN

Nicole Johnson, DNP, MBA, RN, NE-BC, CPEN, is the Chief Nursing and Patients Operations Officer at Nemours Children’s Health in Central Florida. She has been an esteemed nursing professional for more than 30 years and is recognized by peers and clinical teams as a respected thought leader across all areas of nursing, patient care services and emergency management.

Since joining Nemours Children’s in 2011, Dr. Johnson has continuously proven to be exceptionally well versed in critical patient care and the oversight of nursing governance. She began her journey at Nemours as the as the Director of Emergency Services and most recently served as AVP, Acute and Critical Care Services and interim chief nursing officer for Nemours Children’s Health in Central Florida.

Prior to Nemours, Dr. Johnson spent 17 years at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio. She began her tenure there as a nurse tech while completing her bachelor’s degree. Upon graduation, she became a staff nurse in the Emergency Department and continued to build an impressive career in the system, assuming roles of increasing responsibility that would eventually culminate in her becoming Emergency Department Nurse Manager. In this role, she oversaw the hospital’s four emergency sites. She then went on to become the Director of Emergency Services at Florida Hospital Waterman before coming to Nemours in 2011.

Dr. Johnson has a strong background as a registered nurse in critical care and a relentless curiosity about pediatric nursing best practices and educational advancements. This drive for continuous learning inspired her to earn her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Central Florida in 2017. Dr. Johnson also holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Akron and an MBA and MSN from the University of Phoenix.