Meet the New Chief Professional Officer for the Nurse Category

RADM Carol A. Romano was selected as the Chief Professional Officer for the Nurse category effective 1 November 2005. As Chief Nurse Officer, RADM Romano is responsible for providing leadership and coordination of Public Health Service (PHS) nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General. Her duties include representing the Surgeon General and the PHS in contacts with groups at the State, national and international levels and with professional societies concerned with nursing issues. RADM Romano will provide guidance and advice to the Surgeon General and the Nurse Professional Advisory Committee (N-PAC) on matters such as standards, recruitment, retention, readiness and career development of PHS nurses.

RADM Romano received a diploma in nursing in 1971 from the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA, and a baccalaureate degree in nursing in 1977, a master of science degree in 1985 and a PhD degree in 1993 from the University of Maryland. She completed the Senior Managers in Government Training Program at Harvard University School of Government (1997) and the Interagency Institute for Federal Health Care Executives training program at the George Washington University (1993). She is board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in nursing informatics and advance nursing administration.

Her civil service career began as a clinical research nurse at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in 1971. She was appointed to the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1986 and assimilated as a Regular Corps officer in 1993. She has worked at NIH for 34 years in a variety of positions including associate investigator, clinical research nurse, nurse educator, nursing information systems specialist, Director of Marketing & Recruitment, and Director of Clinical Informatics & Quality Assessment. Her research includes completed and published studies in the area of informatics education, confidentiality of clinical records, and the adoption of innovations.

RADM Romano is a recognized pioneer in the field of nursing informatics. She was involved in designing and implementing one of the first computerized medical information systems in 1976, which provided electronic medical orders and clinical documentation for patients in ambulatory and hospital environments. She was a co-architect of the world’s first graduate curriculum in nursing informatics at the University of Maryland and mentored numerous students in this field. She authored over 50 published papers, edited 2 books, served on 3 editorial boards, given numerous presentations at national and international conferences, and held several adjunct faculty appointments. She served as chair of the Commission on Certification (1997-1998) for the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a member of the Advisory Board on Therapeutic Information Management (1995-2000) for the U.S. Pharmacopeia’s Drug Index, and co-chair of the Maryland State Board of Nursing Task Force on Standards of Practice in 2001.

RADM Romano has been an advisor to the World Health Organization on management of manpower and health information across developing countries. In addition, she provided consultation to the HHS Commission on Nursing and the National Institute on Nursing Research panel on research priorities in informatics. She was appointed as Executive Secretary to the Surgeon General’s Work Group on Physical Activity and Health, Chair of the NIH Advisory Committee for Women, and member of the NIH Diversity Congress. RADM Romano also co-developed the NIH Nurse Scientist Training Program. She has played a leadership role in emergency response and was instrumental in creating the Federal Volunteer Line within the first couple of days after Hurricane Katrina landed.

RADM Romano is currently assigned as the Deputy Chief Information Officer at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, where she directs the clinical operations for development, implementation and evaluation of the NIH Clinical Research Information Systems.

She has received numerous awards including the PHS Meritorious Service Medal, three PHS Outstanding Service Medals, a Commendation Medal, two PHS Achievement Medals, two PHS Citations, three PHS Unit Commendations, the PHS Crisis Response Service Award, the NIH Director’s Award, the Clinical Center Director’s Award, and two HHS Quality of Life Awards. She has been named to the World’s Who’s Who of Women and Who’s Who in American Nursing.

RADM Romano’s memberships in professional organizations include the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, the America Medical Informatics Association, the Commissioned Officers Association, the Reserve Officer Association, and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.

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