Roxana Chicas had it in her all along.

Sometimes it takes a person looking at you from the outside to recognize your leadership qualities. That’s what happened to Roxana Chicas, PhD, BSN, RN, FAAN. While working as a billing specialist in a pediatric office, one of the physicians told her she’d make a great nurse. She’d never even considered the possibility. Now, with a PhD under her belt, she leads an Emory University research team that studies heat-related illness in farm workers. She’s also leading initiatives to encourage Latino high school students to consider nursing careers. Chicas, a Georgia Nurses Association member, recently spoke with the American Nurses Association about her leadership journey.

You didn’t see yourself as a nurse, let alone a nurse leader. What changed?

I decided to trust my mentors! When nursing was suggested as a career for me, I was surprised—but I chose to explore it. Once I arrived at Emory University, I struggled with feeling like I didn’t belong. But I made a choice to change the way I viewed myself. I knew I had something to give, and it was up to me to believe in myself. My mentors encouraged me to keep going even though I felt discouraged. That built my confidence, and I’m happy to do the same now as a mentor to other nurses.

Tell us about your research.

My team looks at how heat affects the health of agricultural workers. We found that for some, their core body temperature was reaching over 100.4° F. So we started thinking of ways to protect these laborers and keep their core body temperature at a safe level.

We produced a cooling vest and a cooling bandana. We randomized workers into groups that wore the vest, the bandana, both, and the control group. The bandana seems to be the most effective. It’s lightweight, reusable, and costs about $4 to $5.

Now we’re planning to do a much larger research study because that was a small pilot.

Which leadership skills do you draw on for your work in the field?

Trust, flexibility, and listening. We have to build trust and rapport with this community. This population has been marginalized. We’re interrupting them while they’re making their living, so we need to be flexible. Listening is particularly important; it helps to build trust and it makes our work more accurate.

How can nurse leaders encourage more Latino nurses to move into leadership roles?

If nurse leaders truly want to diversify leadership and the nursing workforce, they have to put in the effort. Mentorship has a lot to do with it. For example, Linda McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory, is my mentor. Sometimes, when she’s asked to do a presentation, she’ll say, “I can’t do it, but Roxana can.” That’s one way that she’s pushed me to network, talk about our work, and make sure other people know about me. Mentors can provide opportunities for us to gain experience and develop our leadership qualities.

She also supported my idea for the school of nursing to host a group of Latino high school students to encourage them to go into nursing. We now do that every year.

What’s something about nursing you wish more people knew?

That nursing science rocks! One of the coolest things about nursing research is that an entire population can become your patient. It may take a long time for your work to change things, but when it does, you can make a lasting impact.

Interview by Elizabeth Moore, content creator at the American Nurses Association.

American Nurse Journal. 2023; 18(10). Doi: 10.51256/ANJ102325