I'm Ursula Sparks. I live in Little Elm, TX (about 20 miles north of Dallas) with my 7 year old shih tzu, Gizmeaux. She's such a sweetheart. I earned my BSN in 2001 from the University of Central Arkansas (alma mater of Scotty Pippen). My career started as CVICU nurse at Baylor University Medical Center. Subsequently, I've worked as a travel nurse, a utilization review nurse, and a telephonic nurse case manager. Currently I am a nurse manager for property and casualty insurance company where I manage worker's compensation claims. In the role, I am responsible for seeing that our nurses adhere to best practices through quality reviews, oversight of the utilization review determinations, and partner with my claim manager peers to make sure that the nurses and claims adjuster work collaboratively to get the injured workers back to work quickly and safely.

I am on the MSN/MBA track. I've been in the program since the fall of 2013. I am wrapping up the MSN portion of my degree plan this summer by taking Delivery of Care.  During the fall of 2015, I got the bright idea that I’d like to pursue the Post-graduate Education Cert; which means I’ve added 3 additional classes to my degree plan. I will be finished this fall. 

What I have come to know about myself as I have gone through this program is that I never want to stop adding skills to my leadership tool kit as I advance in my career. I only wish I had advanced my education sooner. Despite the challenges of being a nurse leader, I want to continue to do my part to make sure that the nursing profession remains as relevant, if not more relevant to health care as it is today by fostering collaboration between various disciplines.  I have also learned that I need to listen to my body and knowing when I need to get more rest.

I look forward to working with everyone this semester! Best of luck to each of you!