Mercy Administrator Elected President
of American Organization of Nurse Executives
Carol A. Watson, PhD, RN has been elected president-elect of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE). She is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nurse Executive at Mercy Medical 
Center, Cedar Rapids. Watson has held her present position at Mercy for 18 years. She will serve as AONE’s president-elect for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2007 and will become president for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2008.
Watson has been a nurse for 36 years and an AONE member for 18 years. She was a member of the AONE Board of Directors for four years, representing Region 6 (2000-2003) and was appointed in 2003 as the first nurse executive member of the Iowa Hospital Board of Trustees. Additionally, she serves on the Advisory Board of the AONE Institute for Patient Care Research and Education and the AONE Patient Care Delivery Task Force. The Iowa Organization of Nurse Executives recognized her as the Outstanding Nurse Executive in 1992. She is also a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Nursing Administration.
Watson has published over 20 journal articles or book chapters and regularly presents to a variety of audiences on current issues in nursing and health care. This includes holding adjunct faculty appointments with the University of Iowa College of Nursing and Mount Mercy College, Cedar Rapids. Watson earned her PhD in Education and Masters and Bachelors degrees in nursing from the University of Iowa.
“I am incredibly honored and also humbled to be elected by my peers as the president-elect,” said Watson. “AONE is an outstanding organization that is providing leadership on many tough issues facing nursing and health care. I’m excited about the opportunity to lead this organization and help advance their leadership agenda.”
AONE, a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association, is a national membership organization of over 5,000 Registered Professional Nurses in executive positions.
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