From patient care to public service

Early on in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, as a student in the health innovation and leadership specialty, Brian Quinn, BSN ’06, RN, remembers being encouraged to think deeply about how he could impact others.

Those reflections were on his mind when a seat opened on the city council of his hometown, Lake City. He initially dismissed the idea, but when he learned no one had applied, something clicked. Having previously served as chair of the local ambulance commission, he decided to step up.

“I asked myself, why not me? Why not impact the community that I live in?” he says.

When council members unanimously voted him in, Quinn watched with surprise. Just a month earlier, he had declared he’d never run for elected office.

“I learned to be careful about saying never,” Quinn says. “Life seems eager to challenge that particular statement.”

Today, as the mayor of Lake City, Quinn’s journey from patient care to public service demonstrates how nursing skills translate into effective community leadership.

Finding his path

Quinn’s career from serving as a paramedic to nurse to mayor wasn’t meticulously planned. After starting college in business and accounting, he realized it wasn’t igniting his passion.

At 19, Quinn decided to instead pursue an accelerated six-month paramedic certification at the University of Iowa. The switch transformed his academic performance — he went from struggling to earning straight A’s. “When you find your calling that affects your interest, ability and engagement,” he says.

For 15 years, Quinn thrived as a paramedic, performing emergency procedures and making critical decisions under pressure. Eventually, in 2002, he enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the University of Minnesota. After graduating in 2006, he served in nursing roles at Mayo Clinic in the intensive care unit before moving through cardiac medical ICU, electrophysiology, and CV surgery ICU roles.

Quinn eventually managed the Rochester Mayo Clinic Emergency Department before becoming a nursing administrative specialist, handling complex hospital-wide challenges including staffing and budget systems.

“I quickly realized that the tangible impact is in the systems because you can affect everybody, not just that one person right in front of you,” Quinn says. “The systems and processes in that broader ability to impact health care, patient care and the bigger picture really appealed to me.”

Transferable skills

Quinn’s nursing background equipped him with invaluable skills for public service. “A nursing career isn’t just medical,” he says. “You’re dealing with people, culture, psychology and change management.”

Those skills proved crucial when he transitioned to his current role as a security manager at Mayo Clinic, overseeing a central dispatch monitoring center — and now as mayor of Lake City.

“Crisis management and rapid decision-making have been really helpful,” Quinn says. “The research-based approach to decision making has been very influential and the ethics in nursing has been a strong guide. It helps me guide others when they’re struggling with a decision.”

Other nursing competencies that serve him well include collaboration across disciplines, advocacy, empathy, and public health awareness — understanding how policy changes affect populations differently.

As a council member, Quinn brought his analytical yet compassionate nursing perspective to local issues. In one early case, he advocated for a variance allowing a driveway for a person with disabilities. “It mattered deeply to me that this family felt heard and supported. That family had a significant impact from that one-hour conversation at council,” he says.

When the two-term mayor encouraged Quinn to run for the position in 2024, Quinn initially hesitated, but ultimately decided his perspective as a newer resident (six years in a town where many families have lived for generations) could be valuable.

Looking forward

As mayor, Quinn’s priorities include addressing affordable housing shortages, supporting economic development, strengthening community engagement, and planning sustainable infrastructure maintenance. His leadership approach with city staff emphasizes coaching and empowerment — skills honed through his nursing career.

“My transition from health care to public office isn’t just a career shift,” Quinn says. “It’s a natural extension of my commitment to serving others.”

Drawing on his nursing background, Quinn continues seeking system-level improvements to benefit individual citizens — applying the same principles that guided his patient care to the health of his community.

“Ultimately, it’s about the people — improving their lives and fostering community,” Quinn says. “To serve others, both in health care and public office, has been the privilege of my life.”