John Dominic Vasquez, BSN, RN
John Dominic Vasquez, BSN, RN, is a clinical operations leader and Master of Healthcare Administration candidate at the University of Southern California, positioned at the intersection of frontline clinical expertise and executive-level strategy. With over 16 years of progressive healthcare experience including eight years as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman with combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan he has built a career defined by high-stakes decision-making, systems optimization, and mission-driven leadership. His service as a corpsman inspired his transition into nursing, where he has been practicing since 2019 after earning his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Coast University. He is certified in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Basic Life Support (BLS), and also serves as an instructor for these critical care courses.
Currently, Vasquez serves as a Registered Nurse II, Charge Nurse, and Global Flow Coordinator at Los Angeles General Medical Center’s Level I Trauma Center, where he leads daily operations for a multidisciplinary team of more than 25 staff in one of the busiest emergency departments in Los Angeles County. His clinical expertise spans emergency medicine and emergency psychiatric care, and he has spent his entire nursing career in hospital-based settings. In his leadership role, he applies data-driven operational frameworks to optimize patient throughput, resource allocation, and workforce management, contributing to measurable improvements in wait times, CT turnaround, and emergency department boarding delays. He is also an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and the American Nurses Association (ANA), reflecting his commitment to professional growth and industry leadership.
Vasquez is distinguished by his ability to bridge clinical realities with administrative strategy, informed by firsthand experience managing surge capacity, leading evidence-based initiatives, and developing training programs that achieved 100% competency outcomes. He is currently pursuing his Master of Healthcare Administration at USC, with anticipated completion in 2025, as part of a deliberate transition into executive leadership. Deeply motivated by patient-centered care, he finds the greatest fulfillment in ensuring patients feel safe, supported, and confident in the care they receive. He attributes his continued success to a strong culture of teamwork and supportive leadership that encourages professional advancement. Looking ahead, Vasquez aspires to serve in a senior administrative role, with the long-term goal of becoming a Chief Nursing Officer at a large healthcare system, where he can drive organizational excellence and improve patient outcomes at scale.
• West Coast University - BSN
• USC Sol Price School of Public Policy -MHA
• RN
• ACLS
• ACLS/PALS/BLS Instructor
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
• Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS)
• American Nurses Association
• American College of Healthcare Executives
• Meal Server
Urban Angels
• Emergency Room Liasion
Huntington Hospital
Areas of Specialization/Expertise
- Emergency Department
- Emergency Psychiatric
What do you enjoy most about practicing medicine?
What drew me to nursing wasn't the clinical protocols or the technical procedures, it was the moments that happen in between. The split second when a patient who came in altered and/or combative finally makes eye contact and trusts you. The controlled chaos of a trauma activation where every role clicks into place and a life is pulled back from the edge.
I've learned that what I love most is the problem-solving that never looks the same twice. In a Trauma Center, no two shifts are identical. You are constantly reading the room, reading your team, and reading your patients all at once.
But if I'm honest, what sustains me is the people. Not just the patients, though their resilience never stops being humbling but the staff I work alongside every day. As a Charge Nurse I've come to understand that nursing at its highest level is fundamentally a leadership discipline. You are managing human beings under pressure, and doing it with both clinical precision and genuine compassion.
The intersection where operational rigor meets human connection is where I feel most alive in this work. It's also what's driving me toward healthcare administration. Because the decisions made in boardrooms and policy chambers ripple directly to the bedside, and I want to be the person who never forgets what that bedside actually looks like.
Locations
Los Angeles General Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA 90033