Nursing alum Todd Renner serves as the director of Cancer Services at Palomar Health in San Diego. (Photo courtesy of Todd Renner)
By Kala Dunn, University Advancement
Choosing a career path can be a lifelong process. For Todd Renner, the course was already set by the time he entered college.
“I was doing a community service class during my senior year [of high school], and I would go to the nursing home for a couple of hours in the middle of my school day,” Renner said. “I just fell in love with nursing. I never changed my intent – never looked back.”
Renner began his postsecondary education at Quincy University, but while he loved the Franciscan tradition, he did not find the community he had hoped for. Feeling discouraged after returning for the spring semester of his freshman year, he remembered a high school classmate who had found his place at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Renner called his mother and immediately planned a visit to campus.
“I hadn’t even been accepted to UMSL, but I got approved on the same day, signed up for classes, and literally started attending the next day,” Renner said. “I have no idea how that happened because you wouldn’t think something could be turned around that quickly. It felt like destiny.”
Upon moving to St. Louis, Renner jumped in with both feet as he began working toward his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the College of Nursing. He quickly found work at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he began building his professional resume by working in the bone marrow and stem cell transplant unit. He also built strong ties with peers and faculty in the nursing program at UMSL.
“Diane Saleska is still a great mentor, and I still reach out to her every once in a while,” said Renner, who graduated in 2005. “I started teaching on the side about four years ago, and I immediately reached out to her to say, ‘Hey, can you give me any advice?’ I thought she was just an incredible teacher.”
Saleska’s positive influence led Renner to participate in what he recalls as an extremely meaningful service trip. Rather than choosing to unwind from a grueling courseload, Renner opted to gain additional professional experience. He joined a group of nursing students and staff who went to Biloxi, Mississippi, to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“There were nursing homes still there with employees who were working 45 days straight,” Renner said. “Diane contacted somebody, and we went down to provide relief. It was such a memorable experience for me. We walked in on a patient who was not breathing. I was used to doing CPR on my patients at Barnes because we were a high-risk program, so I was comfortable helping. It was incredible.”
Experiences like his trip to Biloxi only solidified Renner’s conviction that the education he was receiving was preparing him well for his future career.
“UMSL’s pass rate on the NCLEX made it almost guaranteed that you would pass the exam if you were able to successfully pass the coursework,” Renner said. “Even though I wasn’t a straight-A student and repeated a few classes, I didn’t have to repeat my boards. I felt really confident in that.”
Renner emerged from college not only with the degree he had set out to earn but also with a newfound discovery of his growing leadership skills. With an UMSL leadership award under his belt, Renner entered the workforce with the knowledge that he wanted to find ways to make a difference on a larger scale.
“When nurses go into leadership roles, they are going to have an outsized impact on the people that they’re responsible for on a daily basis,” Renner said. “I got frustrated in direct patient care because I was only impacting maybe four people in twelve hours. In a leadership role, I can have a much greater impact on a wider group of patients through the decisions that I make.”
Renner quickly advanced to nurse manager positions, where he gained a reputation as an outstanding team leader thanks to his willingness to stand up for his employees and commitment to a positive work atmosphere. Having spent time consulting on healthcare technology across Europe, the Middle East, and Australasia, he also chose to earn an MBA to further sharpen his leadership skills and business acumen. But as with many other healthcare professionals, Renner’s career took an unexpected turn during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After exiting a position that did not align with his patient-centered values, Renner looked for a meaningful way to contribute to the pandemic efforts. He found it in the position of regional lead for vaccine distribution in a rural area of northern California.
In his new role, Renner traded an air-conditioned hospital facility for the shade of a steel structure at the International Agri-Center, where he suited up in a cowboy hat and boots with his scrubs to administer vaccines to up to 1,500 people each day in a drive-through clinic.
“Doing the whole vaccination thing, now I see why people love public health and getting involved,” Renner said. “That county is nothing but farmland. You get out of your car and get a big whiff of manure every morning. It was a great experience to be able to provide resources in that type of setting.”
As the pandemic began to subside, Renner re-entered the traditional healthcare sphere with a managerial position at Palomar Health in San Diego, where he has since been promoted to director of Cancer Services. However, Renner is not one to rest on the laurels of such an impressive position. Always looking to sharpen his skills, he has his eye on returning to the classroom.
“I earned an MBA that gives me credibility in the boardroom,’” Renner said. “Now I want to go back to get a master’s or a DNP so when I talk to my doctors, I can give off the confidence that I know the clinical side, too.”
In reflecting on his academic journey, Renner noted that things have changed a lot in the educational sphere since he was a student at UMSL.
“Just 20 years ago, the training was very different from what you have now,” Renner said. “Diane got one sim patient while I was in school, and we got to experience that once. Now at UMSL, they have a whole sim lab. It’s really cool. So, even though my experience was different, one thing is the same: UMSL is continuing to outpace other programs.”
Built on the foundation of an UMSL education, Renner’s career is a testament to the importance of hard work, kindness, and curiosity.
“Don’t close any doors,” Renner said. “Get outside your comfort zone and try something different. That is what is going to make nursing continue to be relevant, if we just broaden our horizon and try new things.”
