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Tera Gross didn’t enter school with the thought of becoming a leader. She just wanted to help people. 

But the positive example of her nurse manager in Gross’s first job after graduating from ��«Ӱҵ in 2001 changed her trajectory. Today, Gross is the chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic in Florida, in Jacksonville, leading a staff of over 3,300 who provide direct care for patients in the hospital, surgery, procedural practices and outpatient clinics. The Mayo Clinic in Florida continues to grow, expanding aspects of practice, education and research. 

She also is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, one of only few registered nurses at Mayo Clinic to hold this title. 

In July she was honored with Mayo’s prestigious Diamond Quality Fellow Award for her career-long dedication to quality improvement. 

Gross is not only a leader within her organization, she is a recognized leader advancing the profession of nursing. She was recently elected to a leadership position within the American Organization of Nursing Leadership, serving a three-year term as the Region 4 director. 

Her trek to success began at her home in Kasson, Minnesota. Her mother was an obstetrics nurse at Mayo Clinic in Rochester for much of her career. Some of her aunts also were nurses. Gross worked as a nursing assistant while in high school, but she started her college career at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, as a pre-dentistry major. 

“I worked at a nursing home through high school, and when I entered college, I missed my role as a nursing assistant, which led me to selecting nursing a profession,” she said. 

SDSU was her fortuitist choice. “I always felt supported. SDSU has professors who are dedicated to students being successful,” Gross said. 

While her path to SDSU was not traditional, she is grateful for choosing SDSU and the choice has given her many opportunities. She said, “What I gained because I made that decision was so positive. Such a great education, not once but twice.” Gross also holds a master’s degree from SDSU, followed by a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Minnesota. 

Experienced career-changing leadership 

Her decision to join the Mayo Clinic team right out of college also has produced dividends many times over. 

“I did interview other places … and I was working at Sioux Valley Hospital (now Sanford) at the time of my graduation. But Rochester is home for me, and I had worked in the campus pharmacy during my summers. My mom was working there. I decided to go home,” she said. 

Gross began on a post-operative surgery floor caring for patients with gynecological surgeries. She saw herself becoming a women’s health nurse practitioner, however, her professional journey became largely influenced by the skill and selfless leadership demonstrated by her nurse manager. 

“I changed my focus to leadership due to seeing the work of leaders and their role modeling,” Gross said. What she saw was “a nurse manager who recognized the value of a team, developed strong internal communication and kept the unit organized,” she said. 

“Also, I had great relationships with co-workers, and that was a testament to her leadership. It takes a strong leader to have a great team.” 

Master’s, experiences launched Gross to leadership 

Gross started an online master’s program through SDSU. The curriculum’s leadership course awakened her to an important aspect of professional nursing. She was surrounded by nursing leaders who demonstrated the concepts she was being taught in her course. 

She was mentored by charge nurses and other nurse leader colleagues who connected the theory learned in her program to daily professional practice and to the true impact nursing executives can have. 

Her first taste of nursing management came in August 2009, when she became a nurse manager in Mayo Clinic’s organ transplant unit in Rochester. She served in this role for five-plus years before becoming a nurse administrator for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester’s department of nursing in January 2015. In that role she provided leadership for several inpatient medical units and one outpatient practice. 

That was a big step up, but Gross said she thrived because of the past experiences she had, her education and the support of several colleagues and dedicated mentors. 

Then in February 2020, just a couple weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic, Gross was promoted to her current position, chief nursing officer at Mayo Clinic in Florida. 

In this position, she is accountable for the provision of all nursing practice, including nursing practice standards, nursing education, nursing outcomes, and nursing research. She closely partners with physician and administration leadership to strategically plan for Mayo Clinic’s future while managing daily operations, budget and resource allocation, and human capital to ensure Mayo Clinic values are at the center of all decisions, she said. 

Recognized for commitment to quality 

Gross’ success is contributed in-part to her long-standing commitment to quality improvement. 

Prior to receiving the diamond quality award, Gross had received bronze (2010), silver (2012) and gold (2015) quality awards. “Being awarded these levels is based on achieving criteria set by the Quality Academy. Diamond Fellowship is a lifetime recognition award and starts with a nomination,” Gross explained. 

According to her nominator, “Tera's contribution to quality improvement spans well-beyond her CV. She is a passionate advocate for improvement science and change management, and she incorporates them into her daily work as a nurse leader.” 

She also is a passionate advocate of mentoring her staff. “If I could do that all day long, that’s what I do.” 

Mentoring comes in many forms 

Just as mentoring favorably influenced her career trajectory, Gross is committed to the professional mentoring of others. Her resume is filled with formal mentorships that continued over the years. 

Gross was intentional about continuing these efforts as chief nursing officer, carving out time to meet with any staff members seeking professional guidance. Her nominator explained, “Each session provided individualized guidance and support for their professional development to include goals for academic appointment and active quality academy involvement.” 

Gross said, “I oversee a department of over 3,300 people. I offer to meet with any of them. During new employee orientation, I introduce myself and tell them, ‘I would be glad to sit down and talk with you about your journey.’ If I can connect them with a resource, I would love to do that.” 

“I also meet with aspiring nurse leaders to help them with their journey. I ask what they want to focus on during our session and the conversation goes from there. Some of it is informal, some of it is formal. Sometimes I meet with them once, sometimes it’s multiple times.” 

Among those whom she mentored in 2024 is Sara Kephart, who will graduate from SDSU in May. 

Kephart is taking part in a mentoring program through the SDSU Alumni Association. They met virtually twice in fall semester and more sessions are planned for spring semester. 

Kephart said, “I was very grateful to be paired with such talent. I hope to gain some wisdom for future growth opportunities for expanding my education further in the future, which Tera has successfully completed. 

“It was such a highlight to get to hear about Tera’s journey to the top of her level and what it truly took to get there. I have enjoyed hearing from her experiences and diving deeper into what it takes to do what she does as a chief nursing officer for a huge company like Mayo Clinic. 

“I’ve also learned how many opportunities there are to grow in the medical field. I feel extremely lucky to have Tera as a mentor and as a support system.” 

Serving where nurses’ voice is heard 

In addition to her position as chief nursing officer at Mayo Clinic in Florida, Gross holds academic rank as an assistant professor of nursing in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. In her role, Gross can elevate the practice of nursing and is especially thankful for the environment at Mayo. 

“Nurses and nurse executives are valued at Mayo. Our voice is very much heard. We sit at the highest executive tables at Mayo. We have ownership over our nursing practice.” 

“I often tell our nurse executives how much our voice matters. We are focused on being health care leaders. People want to hear what we have to say about health care in any area,” Gross said. 

On the home front, Jason and Tera Gross live 3 miles from the beach with their two children — Addisyn, a senior at Nease High School, and Alex, a sophomore at Ponte Vedra High School, both in Ponte Vedra, Florida. 

Her interests encompass traveling, reading, and spending time with her family, who have also relocated to Florida, including her parents and one of her sisters and her family.