Division Director of Research Started as Med School Faculty

Name: Kari Nilsen (she/her)

PhD: Psychology, Wichita State University, 2015

What was your main area of research?

My specialty area was community psychology with a focus on aging and social relationships. My dissertation was about older adults in long-term living facilities and helping them maintain relationships with their friends and family.

What is your current job?

I am the Division Director of Research for HCA Healthcare (MidAmerica, Central/West Texas, and San Antonio Divisions), based out of Kansas City, Missouri.

My role is to educate and facilitate the scholarly activities of physician residents and faculty. Scholarly activity in medical education is a requirement for residents and fellows to graduate and become attending physicians, but many of them do not have a research, quality improvement, medical writing, or presentation background. I help them with their projects from inception to dissemination.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

The people. I love helping healthcare professionals across multiple specialties learn how to create and synthesize evidence-based medicine.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Communication skills and teaching ability. You can go far if you can explain research methods to lay persons.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

Teaching statistics and research methods as part of my graduate school experience has been invaluable.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

I applied locally after finishing my PhD and was hired in a similar position at a local medical school. I stayed there for 9 years and then translated that position into industry.

PhD graduate ➡️ Medical School faculty ➡️ Industry

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

I would recommend getting a job as a research assistant or coordinator at a hospital.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I always thought I would be in academia for my entire life. Leaving felt like losing part of myself at first. But then, once I left, I realized I have a lot of skills that I could translate into industry without all of the bureaucracy. It’s been incredibly freeing.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Start making connections now. Don’t be afraid to reach out to strangers on LinkedIn or who you meet along the way. You never know who is going to pop up and have a job for you in the future!