Purdue nursing alumna and IU Health chief nursing officer uses leadership to amplify nursing voices

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu

Amanda Noth-Matchett(Photo provided)

Amanda Noth-Matchett, a 2010 Purdue University School of Nursing alumna, is a strong advocate for the nursing profession. As chief nursing officer for IU Health Methodist and University hospitals, she has been able to ensure processes and supports are in place to provide the best possible care to patients and a positive environment for the clinical teams.

“Having worked at these facilities as a clinical nurse, I really enjoy being able to amplify the voice of our clinical nurses,” Noth-Matchett said. “I love to work with our teams to set up structures that enable autonomy and empower nurses to make decisions. I do a lot of work around supporting our professional governance structures, supporting development for our team and making sure that all of our team members — but especially our nurses — can practice to the top of their skill set and the top of their license so we can advance the profession.”

While Noth-Matchett started her clinical career at University Hospital without plans to become a nurse leader, she embraced new opportunities that arose, which elevated her through the ranks as a supervisor, manager, director and associate chief nursing officer.

“I really appreciated that by being a leader, I could not only provide excellent care to the patients I was taking care of but really all of the patients who were on the unit at that time,” Noth-Matchett said. “And then also supporting the team, I enjoyed being able to smooth out processes and find ways to make sure we were delivering excellent care.”

Noth-Matchett also experienced nursing leadership during the pivotal COVID-19 pandemic in which Methodist and University hospitals were significantly expanding their patient load to meet the needs of Hoosiers across the state.

“I opened up about an additional 100 beds in less than 30 days so we could make sure we had enough space to care for everyone who needed us,” Noth-Matchett said. “There was tremendous learning in that, working with that interdisciplinary team, especially in the midst of ever-changing circumstances.”

To further support advocacy for nurses, Noth-Matchett has begun the In the Know with Your CNO podcast, which amplifies the stories of nurses.

“That’s one of the things that was instilled in me at Purdue: the importance of the profession, the importance of using our voices to shape the profession and the responsibility that we have at all levels,” Noth-Matchett said. “I think that’s especially important in today’s world when there’s so much noise around what it means to be a nurse. I think it’s really important for nurses to lean into advocacy.”

Amanda Noth-Matchett takes a photo in front of the Johnson Hall of Nursing on her Purdue graduation day.(Photo provided)

For Noth-Matchett, who comes from a family of Boilermakers, Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences was the obvious choice for majoring in nursing because of the direct-admit format for the nursing program and its excellent educational opportunities.

“I knew I wanted to be a nurse, and so to be able to start in the program as a freshman was really exciting and very different from other schools that I had looked at, where you had to go two years as a general health sciences major and then apply,” Noth-Matchett said. “To have that foundation from the get-go and to have that community, that was the other thing that sold me about the Purdue nursing major. They really brought you into the program from the get-go and genuinely wanted you to feel successful. I never felt like a number. I always felt like I had that individual relationship with my advisors and my professors, even from that first year in the program. I think that was a huge part of my success.”

Noth-Matchett also belongs to the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, where she’s encountered many other Boilermaker nurse leaders across the country.

“There’s always a Purdue alum wherever you go, and so it’s always fun to see those connections. It’s been a great way to learn, grow and develop,” Noth-Matchett said.

While Noth-Matchet has also earned her Master of Health Administration and PhD degrees from Indiana University Indianapolis, she credits her Purdue education with giving her a strong start.

“I really think the leadership foundation that I got during my time at Purdue is what enabled me to be so successful, especially starting off right away in the workforce, because I had that really solid foundation to draw from,” Noth-Matchett said.