Clinical Professors

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Patricia Lohr, DNP, RN CENP

Clinical Assistant Professor
Clemson University School of Health Research

Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer-Acute Care
Prisma Health-Upstate

Contact: pidge.lohr@prismahealth.org

Who is Dr. Lohr?

Pidge Lohr joined the Prisma Health team in August 2020 as the Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Acute Care. In her role, she is responsible for supporting the CNOs and assistant CNOs in their leadership of the 12 acute care hospital campuses in South Carolina. Prior to coming to Prisma Health, Lohr was with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. Her clinical practice years were spent in emergency services and disaster preparedness. Lohr received her Diploma RN from Ann May School of Nursing in New Jersey, her BSN from University of Phoenix, her MSN from Florida Atlantic University, and her DNP in Executive Leadership from the University of San Francisco.
Lohr is passionate about mentoring nurse leaders at all levels and embraces Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert model in structuring learning and mentoring activities. She also enjoys writing for publication and helping others get published. Lohr was the guest editor for “Nurse Leader” and assisted in having several of her colleagues published in the journal. In her work with CUSHR and other academic institutions in South Carolina, Lohr works collaboratively to mentor nursing students and help them discover research opportunities that will be meaningful in the acute care setting. She helps the students find projects that have practical applications to both patient care and hospital operations and helps them develop their voice in scholarly articles.
 
For more information, see her CV.

 

How Dr. Lohr’s research is transforming health care

The nursing workforce is aging, and the last 18 months of the COVID-19 is accelerating the process. Nurses and nurse leaders are tired. The nursing shortage in South Carolina is the worst in the nation in the number of nurses per capita. Effective mentoring and investment in the next generation of nurses and nurse leaders is critical if providers are to continue to critical work of caring for our communities.
 
Embracing Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert model at all levels of mentoring can help empower nurses and nurse leaders to grow in their practice and to discover their path. All nurses are leaders, and they need to engage every one of them in leadership development, coaching and mentoring. Lohr is part of the team developing the nurse leader learning lab at Prisma Health and creating the mentoring circles concept for assistant nurse manager, nurse managers, and directors of nursing. She is also working on a CNO fellowship program that will create the next generation of nurse executives and partnering with CUHSR to mentor MSN and DNP students is an integral part of this strategy.

Key Health Research Interest Areas

Mentor; mentoring leader; leadership; executive manager; management coach; coaching