Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) has appointed Tracy Gosselin, PhD, RN, AOCN, NEA-BC, FAAN, as Senior Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive, and Chair of Nursing effective November 2021. Dr. Gosselin currently serves as Chief Nursing & Patient Care Services Officer, Duke University Hospital. In her role at MSK, Dr. Gosselin will be responsible for leading MSK’s Magnet®-recognized Department of Nursing, which is comprised of almost 5,000 highly skilled nurses and nursing support staff across 25 sites of care in New York and New Jersey. She will also oversee and champion MSK Nursing’s hallmark Relationship-Based Care model, shared nursing governance structure, evidence-based practice, and nursing research.
As a key member of the MSK executive leadership team, Dr. Gosselin will help shape the organization’s overall strategic priorities and ensure that nurses at MSK continue to influence decisions that impact their work.
An accomplished nursing executive, Dr. Gosselin has more than two decades of experience in nursing leadership. During her 28-year tenure at Duke University Hospital — including more than five years as Chief Nursing & Patient Care Officer — she has shaped the hospital’s clinical redesign efforts, quality and safety initiatives, and caregiver support programs and helped navigate and lead Duke University Hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her unwavering commitment to and pursuit of nursing excellence helped transform Duke’s nursing programs.
“I am delighted to welcome Tracy to MSK. She is a proven academic medical center leader with a strong record of clinical expertise, scholarship, and mentorship of staff at all levels,” said Kathryn Martin, MSK’s Chief Operating Officer. “I have no doubt she will continue to advance our exceptional nursing practice and make important contributions toward achieving MSK’s strategic objectives.”
“MSK nurses play an indispensable role in delivering the finest care to our patients and families,” said Lisa DeAngelis, MD, Physician-In-Chief and Chief Medical Officer. “We are thrilled Tracy is joining us and know that her leadership along with her compassion for patients and dedication to high-quality care will continue our tradition of nursing excellence.”
Dr. Gosselin became the Chief Nursing & Patient Care Services Officer for Duke University Hospital, presiding over the inpatient, procedural units, and ambulatory care areas, in 2016. Before assuming this role, she served as the Associate Chief Nursing Officer for both the Duke Cancer Institute and the Ambulatory Care Service Line. Her career began in 1993 as an oncology staff nurse at Duke Hospital, and she has served in clinical and administrative positions of increasing scope and responsibility throughout her career.
Dr. Gosselin received her BSN degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts; her MSN degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina; and her PhD degree from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Sigma Theta Tau, the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Nurses Association, and the North Carolina Nurses Association. She serves as the President of the Oncology Nursing Foundation.
“I am thrilled at the prospect of leading the Department of Nursing at Memorial Sloan Kettering, which is renowned for its excellence in every aspect of care,” said Dr. Gosselin. “We are critical caregivers who make a difference every day in the lives of the patients and their loved ones that we serve. It will be an honor to guide the dynamic MSK nursing team as we continue to advance MSK’s mission forward.”
Dr. Gosselin will succeed Elizabeth McCormick, who in 2021 announced her intention to retire after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at MSK for more than two decades and who redefined the role of nursing at MSK.
Dr. Gosselin’s appointment comes after a nationwide search that included an MSK selection committee led by Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Radiology.