Alumni Affecting Change: Jewel Adams 05MSN
Jewel Adams 05MSN, FNP, NEA-BC, originally did not choose nursing as a career. She wanted to be a journalist — traveling the world and sharing stories about people and cultures. But her mother encouraged her path toward nursing, saying it would ensure a secure future.
Adams heeded her mother’s advice and earned an MSN at Emory. Nearly 20 years later, she has enjoyed a fruitful career in nursing that combines keen clinical skills with her long-held desire for people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to be seen and understood.
She has worked as a nurse, nursing manager, clinical staffing director, and clinical instructor in Atlanta, New York City, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Across these opportunities, she has advocated for diversity, equity and inclusion — serving as a founding member of the National Black Nurses Association’s Greater New York chapter and encouraging diversity outreach in other professional organizations.
Adams’ dedication to this work stems from her encounters with patients facing barriers to care that are often overlooked and biased. She recounts instances where simple adjustments could make a difference, like helping a patient navigate medication schedules amid transportation challenges or understanding the constraints of a patient’s employment situation during discharge planning. She once witnessed a non-English speaking patient receiving discharge instructions in English and stepped in to translate.
It’s these gaps in care that Adams is determined to address.
“At the core of quality health care lies a profound understanding of diversity and its implications,” she says. “We must see diversity on the front lines and throughout the organization. Everyone should know that their perspective is valued and that they have a seat at the table.”
