Drawing upon four decades of professional expertise, Karen Rene Nance Durham, RN, BSN, BSEd, ONC currently excels as a staff registered nurse at TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Since 2014, she has devoted her work to patient care, overseeing a team of nurses and serving as chair of the Seven Tower Unit Nurses Practice Council. She has also been chairperson of the Med-Surge Nurse Practice Council and Executive Practice Council. Before attaining her position, she served the Washington Health System as a staff registered nurse from 1991 to 2014. Likewise, Ms. Durham was an American Heart Association CPR and First Aid Instructor from 1996 to 2014.

In the earlier portion of her career, Ms. Durham worked as a cashier and department manager at Hills Department Store from 1982 to 1990 and as a batch controller for a Walmart Distribution Center between 1979 and 1982. She has also offered her expertise to the education sector, having been an instructor in the Division of Continuing Education at the Community College of Allegheny County and a teacher for the Mt Lebanon School District between 1985 and 1989. She had also served Chartiers-Houston School District and Canon-Millan School District as a substitute teacher.

To prepare for her endeavors, Ms. Durham earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in vocational home economics from Harding University in 1979 and subsequently attained a teaching certification in secondary biology from the California University of Pennsylvania in 1985. Pivoting in her studies, she obtained a nursing degree from the Washington Hospital School of Nursing in 1990, followed by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the California University of Pennsylvania in 1993.

For her vast expertise, Ms. Durham was recognized as a Presidential Scholar at the California University of Pennsylvania. She has also been bestowed with a Silver Beaver Award in 2015 and a Wood Badge in 2011 through the Boy Scouts of America, for whom she has completed extensive volunteer work. In accounting for her professional success, Ms. Durham is grateful for the support of her parents, as well as her leadership team. In addition to her accomplishments in the medical field, she has served as an administrator for an organization supporting single parents. In the coming years, she looks forward to easing into a well-deserved retirement.