Dr. Dayna Scott Vidal is a nationally recognized healthcare executive and subject matter expert in nursing leadership, clinical quality, and patient care transformation. With more than a decade of progressive leadership experience,she brings deep expertise in the full continuum of patient care—spanning inpatient, critical care, ambulatory, emergency, and trauma services. Her careerreflects a consistent commitment to driving innovation, improving healthcareoutcomes, and advancing nursing practice across complex health systems.

Dr. Vidal currently serves as Vice President of Nursing Professional Developmentand Clinical Outcomes at Grady Health System, one of the largest safety-nethospitals in the United States. In this role, she leads strategic initiatives inprofessional development, clinical education, nursing quality, and systemwideperformance improvement. She provides oversight of ANCC accreditationprograms, quality-related clinical education, nurse residency models, and high-stakes reporting metrics such as CMS Star Ratings, HCAHPS, NDNQI, and Leapfrog scores.

She is nationally certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced (NEA-BC), Nursing Professional Development Specialist (NPD-BC), and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ). Dr. Vidal holds additional credentials in Lean Six Sigma and has led multiple high-impact change initiatives using DMAIC, PDSA, and evidence-based practice models including the Iowa EBP Model.

Throughout her leadership tenure, Dr. Vidal has led transformative programs that have improved key safety and quality metrics. She spearheaded a 92% first-year nurse retention rate through the redesign of the transition to practice program, led the design and launch of a Clinical Simulation Learning Center, and helped achieve significant reductions in hospital-acquired pressure injuries and patient falls across multiple facilities. Her innovative approach to data-driven education and quality has earned her system-wide recognition and multiple awards, including the Georgia Hospital Association Patient Safety Award and a Vizient Summit Poster Presentation Award.

Dr. Vidal has held a wide range of senior and executive roles across clinical quality, trauma programs, and performance transformation, with prior leadership at Northside Hospital System and Atlanta Medical Center. She has served as a strategic partner to medical, nursing, and pharmacy leaders, bridging interdisciplinary teams to foster high-reliability systems of care.
In addition to her operational and clinical accomplishments, Dr. Vidal is a sought- after speaker and advisor on nurse workforce development, health equity in quality improvement, simulation-based learning, and organizational leadership in healthcare. She has delivered keynote addresses, facilitated training for professional organizations, and participated in national conferences focused on safety and improvement science.

Dr. Vidal holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership from Augusta University, a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from Western Governors University, and dual undergraduate degrees in Nursing and Business Administration. She continues to contribute to public service through board appointments and is deeply engaged in workforce pipeline initiatives and youth education in healthcare careers. Dr. Vidal is available for expert commentary, interviews, and features related to nursing leadership, healthcare quality, system transformation, workforce development, and patient safety.