15 Minutes with the Boss The moment the Royal Melbourne Hospital CEO learnt to trust her gut
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Oct 20, 2025 Professor Shelley Dolan, Chief Executive of Royal Melbourne Hospital, shares her journey from nursing to leadership, highlighting the challenges of managing stress in healthcare. She emphasizes the importance of trusting one's gut instincts in decision-making, recounting a pivotal moment when she corrected a pressured report that felt wrong. Dolan also discusses balancing short-term pressures with a long-term vision, daily stress management tactics, and her dedication to connecting with the hospital's diverse community. Plus, a glimpse into her unexpected path from aspiring theater director to nursing!
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From ICU Nurse To Executive
- Shelley was a senior ICU nurse in London and initially refused an executive chief nurse role.
- Her boss convinced her she'd influence hospital-wide reform, prompting her to move into executive leadership.
Trust And Verify Your Gut
- Trust your gut when you feel a 'wobbly' about a decision and investigate it further.
- Find more data points and evidence to validate the worry before proceeding.
Reversing A Misreported Metric
- Early in her exec experience Shelley altered national reporting under pressure and later reversed it because it felt wrong.
- She corrected course, reported honestly, and implemented an improvement plan to avoid longer harm.
