When you know … you just know.

For Sharon Adkins, there was never any real question about what she would choose as a profession. “I knew I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was in grade school, and that focus has never wavered,” she noted. “Nursing is an incredible profession with the ability to actually change people’s lives and impact the health and welfare of communities.”

It’s unlikely, however, that the newly minted nurse who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1970 could have begun to envision all the places nursing would lead her.

Adkins, who grew up in St. Paul, worked in pediatric, NICU, and high-risk labor and delivery settings in the Twin Cities after graduation. “I always felt like we were there making small miracles happen every day,” she recalled.

After a brief hiatus from bedside care to work in pharmaceutical sales, which offered a more predictable schedule for the single mother of two young children, Adkins happily returned to nursing.

Remarrying and moving to Nashville, she soon embarked on a new venture with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, working there 24 years and earning a master’s in Nursing Administration, before taking her current position as chief advocate for the state’s more than 110,000 nurses. During her tenure at Vanderbilt, her nursing practice began to take on more of an educational component to help prepare other nurses for success. She also served as director and founder of the Center for Parish Nursing & Health Ministries. “It’s connecting your physical being with your spiritual being,” she explained of the work now referred to as faith community nursing.

Adkins said her current role is due in part to her predecessor, Louise Browning. While Adkins was serving as TNA president in the mid-1990s, Browning put a ‘bug’ in her top volunteer’s ear to think about taking on the lead staff position once Browning retired. When the time came, Adkins was ready to say ‘yes.’

“What I found so appealing was the broad reach this position has and that I would be able to help influence nurses to improve access to care,” she said.

She also relished the opportunity to interact with young nurses. “I love speaking to and working with nursing students. They are our future. They are smart, enthusiastic, and bring new energy to the profession,” she remarked. “I want to fan those flames and keep them engaged and hopefully inspire some to serve the profession in a legislative advocacy role.”

The need is critical, she continued. Adkins said one of the most challenging parts of her job is to get nurses to truly understand how important policy and political advocacy are to their day-to-day practice. She is passionate about her part in helping lead that conversation. “I want to help nurses be able to practice to the full extent of their education, training, and national certification without undue regulatory barriers.

“This is not about ‘turf,’” she stated. “It’s about access to care for patients. It’s about allowing patients choices in the selection of their healthcare provider. It’s about providing quality, cost effective care provided by the appropriate professional.”

When she isn’t advocating for change at the legislative level or overseeing educational opportunities for TNA’s membership, Adkins loves spending time with her family. She described husband Lowell Adkins, who passed away six years ago, simply as the “love of my life.” Each having been married before, the couple created a happy blended family that includes four children, nine grandchildren and two-and-a-half great-grandchildren. The ‘half’ is due in August, Adkins explained with a grin.

Her other new passion is something she’s wanted to try since college. “I am learning to throw pots on the wheel, and I’m loving it!” she said enthusiastically of taking pottery classes. “It’s been great fun and is so different from my day-to-day.”

While the artistic endeavor might be different in practice, one can’t help but notice the metaphoric similarities. Adkins has spent her life unafraid to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty in an effort to shape policy and procedures to help the profession she loves achieve its most functional form.