After working 25 years as a nurse in the trauma intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Douglas Houghton embarked on a new and exciting adventure as the organization’s first Director of Advanced Practice.
After five successful years in that role, Houghton was recruited to become the Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Advanced Practice Providers at the University of Miami Health System, where he oversees 600 advanced practice personnel.
“Leaving clinical practice for leadership was a big leap and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it,” he said. “It has turned into my next challenge. I like to make stuff happen, that’s what I do.”
Houghton has clinical expertise in antibiotics and infection, ethics and end of life care, pharmacology and performance of invasive procedures. He travels regularly to give lectures at conferences and holds national certifications in acute care and critical care nursing.
The 61-year-old said he’s never had a problem being out at work.
“People don’t judge me by that, they judge me by how good a job I do,” he said.
From 1998 to 2003, Houghton, who was a foster parent, helped make history as a plaintiff in the landmark case that overturned Florida’s ban on gay adoptions.
Creating positive change, Houghton said, is his role.
“I’m here to raise the dust, not collect it,” he said.
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