At the Nashville Health Care Council we are honored to have a diverse community of healthcare leaders of every level. As healthcare evolves and grows, so does our Council membership. One way we support building and growing the healthcare talent pipeline is the Leadership Health Care (LHC) program. Leadership Health Care fosters the next generation of healthcare leaders by creating educational and networking opportunities for members. We look to our Leadership Health Care Board of Directors to share their experience and spotlight their achievements to provide lessons and examples of success for the full Nashville Health Care Community.
Meet LHC Board Member, Sarah Bouldin, Vice President, Strategic Marketing, Centerstone.
As a program of the Nashville Health Care Council, how has Leadership Health Care influenced your career?
I joined LHC at the recommendation of a colleague who was already very involved in the group. At the time, I had been in health care for a while but was fairly new to Marketing. The opportunity she recommended was to apply for the upcoming Marketing and Communications Cohort, and to my surprise, I was selected. From there, I built a close network of about 12 professionals who were ahead of me in their marketing careers. As I gained experience and earned promotions those same people celebrated with me. Over the years many of us have stayed in touch sharing everything from recommendations of trainings, conferences, and open positions, to awesome vendors and marketing best practices. Now, when I attend LHC or Council events, I get excited to connect with those same people and all the other wonderful professionals I‘ve met along the way.
Tell us about a professional success story that you’re proud of:
If you’d asked me early in my career if I wanted to manage people, I would’ve run in the opposite direction! But as I’ve grown, I’ve found that some of the most rewarding work I do is investing in my team members’ development. There’s nothing quite like seeing the light bulb go off when someone masters a new skill or realizes their natural talents, I get so excited!
I think that points to something else I am really proud of: Throughout my career, I’ve managed to see several “impossible” challenges across the finish line. Whether it was successfully implementing a new software system across 88 hospitals and training all the staff, being selected to speak at SHSMD as a young marketer, or convincing my organization to invest in an industry specific certification to help our message reach people struggling with addiction, I’ve learned that the right mix of persistence and strategy can yield fantastic results. Anytime I check off one of these “impossible” tasks it feels like a celebration!
What inspired you to choose your current career path?
I’d love to say I dreamed of working in healthcare as a child, but the truth is, it wasn’t on my radar. I graduated during a recession, when jobs were scarce, and started with an entry-level role answering claims calls for an insurance provider. Those two years on the phones opened the door to a role as a product support specialist at a mid-sized healthcare startup.
Later on, life would take me from Chattanooga to Nashville, where I transitioned to the client side. I owned product implementations for the contract management software I had previously supported. After a couple of years working in a legal department, I spotted an internal opportunity in marketing which was the closest thing to my college degree in communications and took the leap. I was almost 8 years into my career before I realized/accepted healthcare had become my “chosen” field.
In college, I imagined working in music, sports, or events, but now, I can’t help but to feel lucky to have landed in health care. The work I do feels relatively stable and there will always be a need for it.
What has surprised you most about working in the healthcare industry?
The healthcare industry is like a giant choose-your-own-adventure journey… it’s expansive, dynamic, and full of opportunity! Whether you want the prestige of working for a Fortune 50 company, a scrappy start-up, or a nonprofit focused on closing the research to practice gap, healthcare has a place for you.
Are you super creative? Or maybe more of a process driven individual? Do you love connecting with people, or would you rather work behind the scenes? No matter your style, there’s a role in this industry that suits your strengths.
What’s exciting, to me, is how simply *understanding* this industry can open doors to jobs you might never have imagined. It’s an ever-changing space where you can grow, pivot, and find new ways to make an impact. If you’re looking for a career with variety and purpose, healthcare might just be it.
If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice before entering the industry, what would it be?
Look at “failure” from the perspective of “What did I learn from this?” and take it in stride. You don’t have to have all the answers, you just need to be curious enough to ask the question no one else wants to ask.
How have you built confidence and/or resiliency over the course of your career?
Building relationships outside of my direct team: both in my company and outside (through groups like LHC.) Some of the best career or life advice came from peers, friends or unofficial mentors who were not intending to impart their wisdom but do bring a highly valued, different perspective to the table.
Learn more about the Nashville Health Care Council program, curated specifically for young professionals and emerging leaders, Leadership Healthcare (LHC).