STORY BY DAWN TOLBERT
Photography by Brant Sanderlin
The first wisps of daylight tint the sky as Danielle Bowling Cain (19C) makes her way to the employee parking lot at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Exhausted yet affirmed, she can’t help but smile with pride as she recalls the way in which her team of nurses fulfilled overnight responsibilities such as settling and discharging patients, managing an ICU transfer, overcoming minor equipment issues, and of course providing an exemplary level of care.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job when at the end of a shift I can see the growth in everybody on my team,” Cain enthused. “When we’ve been super busy and everyone has stepped up, I really honor that.”
Cain’s approach to leadership – inspiring others to succeed and cheering them on as they navigate challenges – fueled her rapid rise in nursing. She became a floor leader just two and a half years after graduating from Berry. In that role, she regularly draws on experiences lived and examples modeled during her student days.
Called to lead
As one of six assistant nurse managers of CHOA’s cardiac acute care unit, Cain oversees a staff 140 strong; approximately 50% spend time with her on the night shift, including 25 nurses who are direct reports. Her duties are meant to be split evenly between hands-on clinical work and administrative tasks, though no two shifts are ever the same.
“I am often handling all the randomness that falls outside of patient care,” she explained. “That might include arranging more support for a family through social work or chaplaincy, escalating care for a patient, assisting in the orientation of new staff, or just maintaining open lines of communication across the organization. I focus on being the kind of leader who helps my staff determine the best next steps for any situation that arises.”
Now in its fourth year, Cain’s leadership journey at CHOA began with encouragement from a manager who recognized her potential even as a relatively new nurse.
“When she asked if I had thought about applying to be floor leader, I said I didn’t know if I was prepared for that,” Cain recalled. “I didn’t think I could be the clinical expert responsible for leading all these people and helping them know exactly what to do in every moment. But when she responded, ‘You will learn the clinical things; we see leadership in you,’ that was really valuable to me.”
Intentional Growth
Development as a leader had long been a priority for the Hiram, Georgia, native who arrived at Berry with her sights set on becoming a doctor. New career possibilities emerged during a first-year seminar class for pre-med majors. As a mix of guests – nurse practitioners, physician associates, anesthesiologists, doctors and surgeons – spoke about their lives, Cain began to think concretely about her own future. Perhaps fittingly, it was around that same time that she first took notice of classmate Brett Cain (19C). [The good friends started dating during their senior year and married in 2022.]
“I spent a lot of time thinking about what I really wanted out of my career,” she reflected. “I realized that taking care of people, building relationships and being there in some of their hardest, most vulnerable moments was what I wanted.”
Cain committed to pursuing nursing as a major during her sophomore year, even squeezing in a study-abroad experience to complete a literature requirement so she could stay on track. Once in the program, she quickly came to value the personalized attention provided by the faculty, expressing particular appreciation for the clarity of critical-care instruction offered by Dr. Katie Morales (FFS) and the love for pediatrics sparked by Dr. Rebecca Logan (FFS).
“There was a pivotal moment in one of my clinicals when Dr. Logan told me, ‘I need you to come to these rounds and listen carefully,’” Cain recounted. “As the provider drew pictures of the heart for a young patient, I knew pediatric cardiac care made a lot of sense to me.”
To explore the field further, she applied for an externship at CHOA, following in the footsteps of Melody Dreyer Green (18C). Cain thrived in the fast-paced environment during the eight weeks spent working alongside the nursing staff, afterwards securing a post as a patient care tech so she could keep gaining experience while completing her degree. The combined opportunities left her well positioned when it came time to interview for a full-time role at the hospital.
Purposeful Work
Now an experienced pediatric nurse, Cain exults in meeting the specialized needs of patients learning to navigate life after difficult diagnoses.
“Our kids are very vulnerable,” she emphasized, “but I love that I get to instill confidence in their families by helping them learn skills that will allow them to take their babies home and be great mamas, daddies, grandparents and foster parents.
“That’s why pediatrics speaks to me,” Cain elaborated. “I get to lead by example, walking alongside these families in their hardest moments. I take home a lot of sadness but also a lot of fond memories of those who are doing really well.”
Learned behavior
Cain’s leadership philosophy models that of Cecily Crow (94C, FS), her mentor and work supervisor of nearly four years while at Berry.
She joined Crow’s student activities team as a freshman after her first campus job did not provide the growth she craved and quickly found herself assisting with a wide array of projects, including Leadership Fellows programming and the Marthapalooza student carnival held each Mountain Day. She later became a student orientation leader for two summers and served as Student Nurses Association president. While planning events, Cain grew closer to future husband Brett and a tight-knit group of friends that still travels together and gathers for dinner on a near-weekly basis.
“We learned how to go through the hard times of a rainy Marthapalooza together, so real life with them is not a challenge,” she quipped. “We value our time together and talk often about how special Berry was for each of us.”
Through service on the Berry Alumni Council, Cain relishes the opportunity to again work alongside Crow, who is now alumni relations director. At CHOA, Cain seeks to emulate the model of trust Crow demonstrated when selecting her for a new, top-level student work position charged with helping the student affairs staff navigate a reorganization of campus groups.
“Trying to think on that kind of global scale is something I would do in my job now, so to do it as a junior in college was really something,” Cain marveled. “Cecily gave me a lot of responsibility and then let me do the work.
“The types of leadership I experienced at Berry have really shaped my view of the nurses I manage,” she added. “I’m working with a young staff that is still building their confidence, gaining clinical skills and experience. In my role, problem solving and leading by example are key, and I am so thankful to have such good examples to follow.”
Empowering others
Cain’s leadership was tested in 2024 when CHOA moved to the new Arthur M. Blank Hospital, a gleaming 19-story facility encompassing 2 million square feet at the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Interstate 85.
As one of 10 unit-designated “AMBassadors” (so named in honor of Blank), she was tasked with the formidable job of passing along knowledge gained during two weeks of specialized training at the new hospital to the rest of her team in just three days’ time.
“The first night at the new hospital, I had the privilege of leading through all the questions that arose, which included everything from where to find supplies to how to get to X-ray,” Cain exclaimed. “That was really rewarding because, once the dust had settled, we had solved problems and provided great care.”
Similarly, the feeling of success that comes at the end of a busy night shift – when care has been delivered and confidence has grown – reminds Cain why she chose this path. Leadership, for her, is not about titles or recognition; it is about solving problems and helping others rise. And that is work that deserves a smile.
