Sing Your Song: Honoring a Legacy of Service

A pioneering voice in modern nursing, Maria W. O’Rourke, PhD, RN, FAAN, has dedicated her career to advancing professional nursing practice. Her influence spans five decades of leadership, education, and innovation. Most notably, her development of Role-Driven Practice™ is a framework that brought clarity and accountability to the professional identity of nurses across the country.

Dr. O’Rourke’s work helped reshape California’s Nursing Practice Act in 1974, securing legal recognition for the decision-making authority and responsibility of nurses. Through her consulting work and academic appointments at institutions like UCSF and Saint Mary's College of California, she has equipped generations of nurses and health systems with the tools to enhance professional role decision-making, foster interprofessional collaboration, and ensure patient safety.

Watch the two-part narrative celebrating her lifelong mission of having nurses 'Sing Your Song'.

Sing Your Song w/Maria W. O'Rourke