Meet Rhonda Miller, facility nurse manager at the TDCJ Clyde M. Johnston Unit, who was awarded the 2024 Nicholas and Katherine Leone Award for Administrative Excellence.
The Leone Award is presented annually to a manager or supervisor who has achieved administrative excellence and abides by the values and standards outlined in the UTMB Professionalism Charter and our core values.
The award was founded in 1971 through an endowment from Dr. Nicholas Leone, a former commanding officer and director of the Public Health Service Hospital in Galveston, and his wife, Katherine.
How long have you worked at UTMB?
21 years, 7 months
How would you define successful leadership?
I would define successful leadership as leading by example, never assigning any tasks to your employees that you are not willing to complete yourself.
How do you exhibit professionalism in your role?
I exhibit professionalism in my role by my actions. I find the good in all situations; I have strong ethics and always display a positive attitude and maintain self-control in all situations. I am always seeking ways to improve while staying true to my core values. I do not gossip, and I do not participate in any drama. I am trustworthy and always doing the right thing when no one is watching.
How do you support and encourage professionalism among your team?
I support and encourage professionalism among my team by remaining positive and approachable with an open-door policy. I am attentive and responsive to each of my team members’ needs. I follow through on their concerns and utilize my knowledge and training to improve all areas of our clinic. I believe the most important thing for a manager is to know each team member's strengths and weakness in order to encourage them and build them up.
How does your role in a correctional environment differ from a similar role in a non-prison environment?
When I think about my nursing years in the hospital versus my correctional nursing career in the correctional setting, you must demonstrate your confidence in your nursing skills as well as yourself. Correctional nursing is not just bedside care; it is learning to practice within a community, along with public health, addressing the needs and coordinating care with a multi-disciplinary team for an under-served population.
What do you love about UTMB?
I love everything that UTMB stands for! I love my Correctional Managed Care family because you feel like a part of an extended family and no matter the distance from campus or our units of assignment, I can call and have no hesitation that I will have a person to collaborate with or that within a few hours any of my CMC family would drive the distance to provide support.
What does Best Care mean to you and how do you contribute to it in your role?
Delivering the utmost exceptional patient care in all situations while assessing the whole person. I lead by example providing care while teaching my staff as issues or concerns are identified.
What is your favorite quote?
“Sometimes, you have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.”-- Zig Ziglar
We are in it together; I often share this with my staff as encouragement.
What inspires you?
Nursing has always been a calling on my life. My husband has always been my biggest supporter, encouraging me to keep reaching for all my dreams. My children have also been my inspiration, and I hope that I have shown them that the glass is half full and not half empty and hard work never hurt no one.
What would you like to be remembered for personally and professionally?
Professionally, I would like to be remembered as a servant leader and a teacher. I would like to be remembered personally as a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, and that I love my children and grandchildren with all that I am! They are my greatest blessings.