Shirley Dominick is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where she double majored in political science and French. She is multilingual, speaking French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. After her initial bachelor’s, she worked as an international flight attendant serving as a language interpreter on international flights. She later changed gears and completed her diploma of nursing from Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences. Dominick worked at the bedside with oncology medical-surgical patients and earned her certification in med-surg nursing. After obtaining her first position out of school, she continued her education, receiving her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Rider University.
As a clinical nurse at Reading Hospital, Dominick was involved in many activities, including the Medication Safety Committee, where her love of patient safety blossomed. She joined the hospital’s Patient Safety Department as a patient safety process manager, where she worked closely with all departments providing education about safety and reporting. She completed a master’s degree in patient safety and quality at Southern New Hampshire University.
Prior to coming to the PSA, Dominick served as the patient safety officer at Reading Hospital, working to promote safety and facilitate the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) safety assessment. She implemented many of its recommendations, including creating a system policy for Just Culture, ensuring that all meetings started with a safety story, and creating a safety dashboard to keep board members up to date on safety concerns. She additionally has obtained her certification in patient safety (CPPS).
Advocating for patients has always been a passion of hers and in her role as a patient safety advisor, she will continue to share her knowledge and passion with institutions she will work with. She has many years of experience with interdisciplinary collaboration, presentations, and providing education on a variety of topics.
