Courtney Novello, CCP, FPP
BS, Cardiovascular Perfusion, Class of 2003
As a South Florida clinical manager for Specialty Care, Courtney Novello oversees cardiovascular perfusion at three hospitals and manages a team of fourteen. “I have many hats that I have to wear,” she says. Among her favorites is mentor. “I love teaching my passion and seeing the moment when it clicks in the mentee’s mind.”
Since graduating from Barry’s Cardiovascular Perfusion program in 2003, Novello has steered her career with the same determination that helped her succeed in her undergraduate studies. She was 19 when she entered Barry, intent on academic excellence even as she maintained a fulltime job. “I knew I was young,” she says, “but I also knew what I wanted. I would bring my books and study while at my job and any time I could.” Her hard work caught the attention of her professors and clinical mentors at area hospitals, who helped launch a career that includes a distinguished Fellowship in Pediatric Perfusion at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where Novello was previously co-chief of the department. In 2010, she returned to teach in Barry’s CVP program before being recruited, a year later, to open a pediatric heart program in West Palm Beach. She remained with pediatrics for three years before switching to adult perfusion. “By this point, I had a child who was one and a half years old, and I needed a change,” she says.
Change, to Novello, has never meant slowing down. Now, as a regional clinical manager and mother of two small children, she returns to Barry each spring to teach a course. Her love of her career is palpable, and her students tend to seek out her guidance. “I offer any advice I can and also give out my personal cell number and email address,” she says. Integrating the role of mentor into her career has been a continuous and evolving process, as Novello has advanced to the top of her field. “I have mentored Barry students, new-graduates, new chiefs, experienced perfusionists,” she says. It’s challenging, she acknowledges. But sharing the rewards and struggles of working in a life-saving career is a hat she’s proud to wear. hat she’s proud to wear.
"I love teaching my passion and seeing the moment when it clicks in the mentee’s mind.”