Travels from Pennsylvania, USA
Kathleen Pagana's speaking fee falls within range: $5,000 to $10,000
Veteran nurse, Kathleen Pagana leads the way in professional etiquette training and stress management for healthcare professionals. She is the author of The Nurse’s Communication Advantage and the 2015 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year, The Nurse’s Etiquette Advantage.
Pagana speaks an average of 60 times per year to audiences across the country, sharing her expertise and insights from over 35 years working in the healthcare industry as an Army Nurse Corps private and captain, clinical nurse, professor, and academic dean. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a PhD in nursing and has published more than 90 articles and 29 books. Her practical guide Mosby’s Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference, co-written with her husband, has sold over 2 million copies internationally.
A practicing nurse in her local hospital, Pagana knows firsthand the challenges that today’s health care providers face. As a member of the board of directors of a regional hospital, she also understands the operative and administrative reality of having to do more with fewer resources. Her continuing hands-on experience makes her a relevant and influential speaker for the healthcare sector.
Kathleen D. Pagana has been a leader in healthcare for more than 35 years, with experiences including college teaching, administration, clinical practice, business management, writing, and professional speaking.
She has written more than 85 articles. Among the 28 books she has written, she has co-authored the number one best-selling book on healthcare diagnostic and laboratory testing, Mosby’s Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference which has sold more than 1.5 million copies and has been translated into five languages. She is the author of The Nurse’s Etiquette Advantage: How Professional Etiquette Can Advance Your Nursing Career. She is also a contributor to the second edition of Chicken Soup for the Nurse’s Soul. Her new book in the nurse’s advantage series is The Nurse’s Communication Advantage: How Business-Savvy Communication Can Advance Your Nursing Career.
She began her professional career in the Army Nurse Corps, where she rose to the rank of Captain and combined military protocol with clinical expertise, leadership, teamwork, and patient care.
She received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Nursing Research, where she focused on how individuals respond to stress. She created a research instrument that is still in use around the world today.
Following completion of her PhD, she became a full professor in the Department of Nursing at Lycoming College and also held positions as Department Chair, Faculty Chair, and Academic Dean.
As the Academic Dean, her leadership style was often described as the combination of a broad knowledge base and strong management skills with excellent interpersonal communications.
Today she continues to serve Lycoming College as Professor Emeritus, the highest rank awarded to faculty who have advanced the college mission through meritorious teaching, scholarship, and service.
Her most prestigious awards include the Army Commendation Medal, a Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, and numerous accolades recognizing her articles and books.
Kathy and her husband, Tim, are the proud parents of three daughters. Kathy enjoys swimming, yoga, golfing, weight lifting, running, and biking. She recently began competing in triathlons and wins medals every event—mainly due to the small number of participants in her age group!
Working today as an independent author and speaker, her presentations, seminars, and retreats help businesses and not-for-profit organizations address the challenges of leadership.
Healthcare and life balance speaker, Kathleen Pagana shares her #1 piece of advice for sustaining high energy, trying new activities, and raising your productivity - "just show up."
After participating in a triathlon, Pagana was surprised to discover she’d won a plaque for third place; it turned out there were three participants in her age group. Already fit from her first competition, she began to enter more, each time gaining a prize because she was one of only two or three female participants in her age demographic. While Pagana jokes that she “found her niche,” on a broader scale she realized that so much of personal success simply comes from being present and prepared. For example, if you go to the gym in your sneakers or the pool in your swimsuit, you most likely will exercise.
“It doesn’t really matter how you do. No one really looks at you. Everybody’s just concerned about their own fitness routine,” Pagana states. “Just show up,” she elaborates, is a mantra that extends beyond fitness. “If your goal relates to writing, again, show up at a writers’ club. Show up and just start doing it…You don’t have to be good. You just have to be persistent.”
Life balance keynote speaker, Kathleen Pagana recharges healthcare providers across the country with her fast-paced and customized programs covering professional etiquette, achievement, time management, and self-care. Professional and approachable, she illustrates valuable do’s and do not’s through short stories and relatable scenarios. Furthermore, Pagana opens up a respectful dialogue between her and the audience, drawing on their experience as well as her own in order to generate content and takeaways that are relevant and unique to your group.
Momentum Leadership: Energizing Your Career with Purpose, Protocol & Passion Today’s leaders are challenged to continually solve new problems. But they must also implement the creative solutions they conceive. By increasing and sustaining their leadership momentum, they can succeed at both.
Learn how to proactively:
The Pursuit of Happiness: Generating Momentum to Reach Personal and Professional Goals Do you ever feel like your career is stuck in a rut? Perhaps you want something different but do not know what it is or how to get it. This engaging and inspirational session supports this challenge by generating professional momentum and maximizing leadership opportunities. Participants will learn how to position themselves today for the position they want tomorrow.
Learn how to:
Reinvesting in Your Potential: A Game Plan for Life and Work As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams." However, believing is not enough to reach our dreams and maximize our potential. We need to be proactive and take action demonstrating the importance of investing in ourselves. We need to cross the bridge from ‘saying and thinking’ to actually ‘doing and achieving’. If you’re not for yourself, who else will be? This fun, interactive, and lively program provides the tools and techniques for building a career without sacrificing the importance of a personal life.
Celebrating the Pride, Power and Passion of Nursing This uplifting and thought–provoking program is designed to remind nurses why they chose nursing and to inspire them to face each day with passion and purpose. It will them make proud to celebrate their contributions to the profession they entered as new graduates, the profession they are working in today, and the profession they are shaping for tomorrow’s nurses.
The Nurse’s Etiquette Advantage: How Professional Etiquette Can Advance Your Nursing Career While nursing education has focused on leadership, management, and professional issues, etiquette has been the "missing link" for success in the workplace. This fun and entertaining session will prepare you to handle awkward and challenging situations that could diminish your confidence, tarnish your reputation, and derail your career aspirations
Balancing Your Life by Managing Your Time: How to Use Your Time Best... Every Moment... Every Day Today’s high achieving individuals feel increased demands on their life, both socially and professionally. They increase the risk of living an "out of balance" life, stressing their health, and making them feel overwhelmed. By being more intentional about our time, we can increase both our productivity and sense of well-being.
“In all of my education, I had one professor that stood out because the ideas that she presented really resonated with me and actually changed my value system. I think this is what you did for our graduating students last week. I am sure your presentation will be remembered as a highlight of their basic nursing education.” – Molly Clay, Acting Director, Montgomery College
“I recently attended a seminar by Kathleen Pagana presented at the Geisinger Health System. I was very impressed not only with her knowledge but also her energy. She provided insight into writing and publishing, something in which I was interested in but unsure if I could do it. Kathleen inspired me to take the plunge and an article I wrote was accepted into publication. In addition, the company asked me to do an additional article in an upcoming issue.” – Mary Ellen Dziedzic, RN, MSN, Clinical Nurse Educator
“Your presentations are informative and entertaining. Your energy level is infectious. Your style if front of the group is superb. You are comfortable and appear to be talking to each person individually. You always listen to each person’s comments as if they are the most valuable comments of the day. Even as dynamic a speaker as you are, you remain open to the requests of your clients and work hard to make your programs a success. It is truly a wonderful experience working with you.” – Elaine Stevens, Director of the Sales Academy, Quest Diagnostics
“Her presentation style is lively, engaging, humorous, and highly enjoyable. It was obvious that the audience was attentive and most appreciative of the information quality that Kathy provided. She is gifted in using excellent real-life example to reinforce all salient points of her topic. I personally found her to be a joy to work with and appreciated her uncompromising educational standards.” – Margery Samsel, MSN, Chair, CE Committee, Pinnacle Health System
“Our conference theme this year was “leadership,” so we knew we needed someone who could address this issue from a variety of perspectives. Kathleen was absolutely the best choice. One attendee noted, “Her presentation helped me to get my batteries recharged from the long flight the day before and get ready for the conference.”” – Debbie Trueblood Witt, MSW, Executive Director, International Assoc. of Rehab. Professionals
“The evaluations of this general session were excellent in content, delivery and relevance to their jobs. Ms Pagana demonstrates the abiltiy to touch varying levels of audience and elicit the same type of response.” – Julie Malone, MA, RN, Project Manager, Contemporary Forums
“A very special, heartfelt “thank you” for your wonderful contribution to our Nurses′ Week Celebration. Your topic (Celebrating the Pride and Passion of Nursing) was timely and entertaining and enjoyed by all! I personally appreciate how “stress free” the preparation process was for me because of your attention to the details. Based on the comments from the participants, the day was a great success. Thanks again. I appreciate the opportunity to work with a “professional.”” – Pamela J. Lundy, Director, Resourse Management/ Special Projects, Susquehanna Health
“Dr. Kathleen Pagana was an invited speaker at the 38th American Nephrology Nurses′ Association National Symposium. Her session on professional etiquette was well received. Her manner of presentation engaged the audience and allowed interactive discussions and feedback. She was able to convey this topic in a non-threatening, but yet personal manner so that all attendees were able to gain individual insights. As program chair for this conference, I believe Dr. Pagana has much to share with the nursing world. She is a nursing leader and my business relationship and personal experiences have been very positive. I am happy to endorse her as a future speaker for ANNA as well as for other conference.” – Carol Headley, RN, DNSc, ANNA Conference Planning Chair
“I attended the last ANNA convention in Texas and the presentation by Dr. Pagana on Professional Business Etiquette was terrific. The topic was long overdue! With so many nurses becoming entrepreneurs, it is imperative to know the tips Dr. Pagana discussed and demonstrated. I think the topic was very informative for everyone as it was applicable in all practice settings as well.” – Cora Barrios, RN, MSN, CHN, International Educators Group
“I could listen to her all day. She′s funny, interesting, compassionate, and to the point.” – Diane Langley, Business Strategist, JVBrown Library
“You really captivated the audience during your presentation on Speaking Enhancement. We laughed out loud at your stories and the subject came to life in an entertaining way. Before our eyes, you modeled all of the techniques we learned and empowered us with the skills, courage, and motivation to take the The Birthplace educational programs to the next level. Thank you, especially, for taking the time to customize your presentation to meet our needs. This program is exactly what we wanted. Your professionalism and attention to detail made this workshop a great success.” – Lisa McCloskey,Coordinator of Childbirth Education
“Your presentation in Arizona was excellent. Our client described your keynote as ‘superb.’ On a more personal note, it was a sincere pleasure working with you on the program and I appreciate you tailoring the presentation to the needs of the audience. I look forward to working with you in the future.” – Nicole Lovullo, PharmD, Scientific Therapeutics Information, Inc
“A course every nurse should take. Professional etiquette is utilized in all aspects of career and personal life. Above my expectations – very interactive. Any nurse who wants to have professional success needs this information. Offer this at more National Nursing Conferences.” – Eileen Hermann, Critical Care Nurse Educator, CT
“I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed hearing you speak on Friday morning at the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) conference in Los Angeles. Your keynote presentation helped to get my batteries recharged from the long flight the day before and get ready for the conference so “thank you.”” – Cathlene A. Terwilliger, Manager of Business Development, Transcend Services
“Your keynote presentation offered invaluable tools to enhance our communication skills and professionalism. I was also very pleased with the time you spent working with me to prepare and tailor this presentation to our specific needs. It has been my pleasure to work with you and hope we can do so in the future.” – Juanita Kantner, RN, MS, Occupational Health Admin, Cambell Soup
“In order to succeed you must try and try again. Kathy made us feel that we can succeed at anything and not to be afraid to fail because we can always try again. The whole program was excellent. It gave me an opportunity to enhance my own personal presentation skills.” – Amy Koenig, RN/ Resource Clinician, The Birthplace
“I want to thank you personally for the Business Etiquette Program you presented to our employees in Freeport, IL. The event was a huge success! We had great feedback from our employees, both about the subject matter and you as a presenter. You made the topic fun and interesting, and you also taught us all about etiquette mistakes we may have been making without even knowing it. Thanks you again for a wonderful program. We hope to have you back” – Jen Schwindenhammer, President, US Bank Development Network
“Every professional should attend this presentation. Manners often take a back seat in many situations.” – Heather Rice, American Academy of Pediatrics
“I knew this class could not teach me anything I did not already know about etiquette. I was wrong.” – Francis Jeffers, Memorial Health University Med Center, GA
“Kathy was very well prepared, professional, and informative. She′s the type of person we should all strive to be!!” – Deb Servose, Pre-School Supervisor, Danville, PA
“It was so nice to finally have a guest speaker connect with students. You really made me feel that whatever I choose to do, I can do it. I saved your handout because I loved the quotes – I have them posted on my wall for much needed imspiration.” – Abigail Garman, Nursing Student, Bloomsburg University
“Kathy’s presentation helps you to evaluate how to move forward in your career and how to examine your strengths. I liked the idea of how what I am doing now will set me up for something later. That is a thought-provoking idea!” – Stephanie Young, Community Development Director
“My fiancee and I enjoyed your presentation on the “Pursuit of Happiness” at the Nursing 2008 Symposium in Las Vegas. She has become energized to “swim out to” her BSN and I′m already “in the water” for my EdD.” – Ted Pettinicchi, MSN, N-BC, Nurse Educator, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
“Organized and individualized – you can take information from presentation and use it right away to apply to your own situation.” – Vanessa Holmes, Childcare Director
“What an interesting and inspiring evening! I am ready to ′swim out to the ship.′” – Lori Kenney, YMCA Educator
“This program gave me a different perspective about leadership – many components go into being a good leader. I am going to set goals and take the needed steps to reach those goals.” – Tammy Osenga, Educator
“Lots of good usable information in an informative and often humorous presentation.” – Dallas McWilliams, Manager of Training & Education, Please Touch Museum
“The information was relevant and the presentation was fast-paced to keep our interest. Her inclusion of short stories and examples will help us remember the tips.” – Andrea Lown, Educator, Harrisburg Area Community College
“Kathy radiates confidence but also an air of approachability. This was a clear and organized presentation. I appreciated the affirmation of things I already have done and the inspiration to reach higher and expand my horizon even further. I plan to expand my knowledge base. I want to become more aware of opportunities which will prepare both me and my children for further positioning – ‘ There’s always a later.’” – Cindy Peck, RN Home School Educator
“This presentation helped me to reorganize my goals and thoughts for the Year! You gave me the momentum to keep going with my ideas and to maintain my enthusiasm and passion to help others!” – Barb Barrett, Career Link
“I am sure this etiquette will help my career. I wish this were taught to all employees who deal with customers.” – Jamie Dromerhauser, Sales Academy Quest Diagnostics
“Your presentation on Momentum Leadership drew the largest crowd we have ever hosted. Even the Mayor of Williamsport was in attendance. Your personable, professional and interactive style draws every person into the session. Your openness to offer personal examples of ‘failing forward’ was a true ‘ah-ha’ to all participants. It allowed them a safe space to open up and ask questions regarding their experiences. This validation of the human soul is priceless. Every person in the room knew you were talking to them – not at them – as reflected in the feedback forms.” – Diane Langley, Business Development Strategist
“Kathy′s program is very motivating and useful for me as a director of a childcare center, where time management is essential! The program moved along quickly and had lots of opportunity for networking and sharing of ideas. I am going to try saying, “NO” more often and start delegating jobs to more of the staff.” – Kristi Beach, Director and Educator, Picture Rocks, PA
“Added to my knowledge things I previously thought I knew about professional etiquette.” – Nada Ghaziri, Staff Dev. Coordinator, American University of Beirut
“Your relaxed attitude and ability to draw upon experience of the participants, made the session very interactive. You energized the participants at the conclusion of the day’s program, which is not easy to accomplish. The tips I received will definitely make me increasingly more effective and efficient in both my personal and professional life.” – Judy Shipe, MSN, RN, Clinical Nurse Educator, Geisinger Health
“Very informative and energetic. Never a dull moment. Left the program feeling like I can comfortably get up in front of a group to speak.” – Michelle Dincher, RN, Resource Clinician, Susquehanna Health System
“Always good to get different ideas for an old question. I liked the different ways to approach and handle leadership. This information helps you rethink and update leadership style. I plan to use the unique idea of the personal signature.” – Mack Duncan, Career Link Veteran’s programs
“Great insight and reinforcer of leadership and human potential.” – Dave Machamer, Human Resources, Woolrich Inc.
“For me, the best thing about this program was the speaker. I would love to hear her speak about other subjects.” – Karen Nelson, Project Manager, Providence St. Vincent′s Hospital, OR
“You are an excellent teacher. Wonderfully presented. Easy to understand. I love your stories to go with it. I am a new Diabetes Educator and I’ve learned a lot from you. Thank you.” – Claudette Cilly, RN, New Hampshire
“The breakout session on Lab and Diagnostic Testing was excellent, very interesting and informative with useful information on new lab tests, terrific, and A+.” – Margo Connors, Program Manager, New Hampshire
“A fun, fast paced, and funny way to learn properly the things you thought you knew about etiquette!” – Joy Merrihew, Director, Milford, PA
“Now I feel much more comfortable being in a business situation involving a meal.” – Tiffany McClenahan, Assistant Director, Lumberton, NJ
“Kathleen is a wonderful speaker with stories that relate to ideas. I will concentrate on accomplishing things when my energy is most high.” – Lori Engel, Educator
“Kathy is a dynamic speaker who exemplifies all of the techniques she is teaching! This program was exactly what we were looking for.” – Lisa McCloskey,Coordinator of Childbirth Education
“I like the theme about not letting obstacles end your dreams. This seminar gave me a good outline to better position myself for promotion.” – Tom Primerano, Manager U.S. Postal Service
“Very thorough, clear with thought, and creative. Excellent instructor.” – Morel Branch, Advanced Leadership, Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceutical
“Kathy has a great presentation style. She is able to draw a lot from her audience.” – William Precener, Managing Director, YMCA of Pittsburgh
“How we present ourselves is so important in our careers and in socializing. Kathy gave very practical tips to promote kindness and respect when communicating with all.” – Billie Coffman, Professor, Penn College of Technology
“Enjoyable, entertaining, and very helpful. Great examples and very practical.” – Jo Ellen Bretz, Nursing Director, St. John′s Hospital, IL
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The Nurse’s Communication Advantage: How Business Savvy Communication Can Advance Your Nursing Career / Edition 1
The Nurse’s Etiquette Advantage: How Professional Etiquette Can Advance Your Nursing Career: 1st Edition
Etiquette is more than just which fork to use. It’s about handling business meetings and PDAs appropriately. It′s about cultivating your career, and it′s essential for nurses′ career success—from new graduates to seasoned leaders.
Popular author and speaker Kathleen D. Pagana, PhD, RN, transfers her teaching style into a book that both informs and delights. Learn from the experience of others through faux pas, good ideas, frequently asked questions, and take-away tips.
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