The Road to AACN Leadership Presents
Numerous Routes
By
Celeste Smith, RN, BSN, CCRN
AACN
Nominating Committee
and
Rebecca Long, RN, MS, CNS, CCRN,
AACN
Board of Directors
As the
undisputed leader in critical care nursing,
AACN is a beacon of light for potential
leaders. Critical care nurses often express
interest in developing their leadership
skills, inquiring about leadership roles
within the organization and what would help
them to become good leaders.
There are
many leadership opportunities not only
within AACN, but also within the greater
healthcare arena. The current Call for
Nominations for leadership positions on the
AACN Board of Directors, AACN Nominating
Committee and AACN Certification Corporation
Board of Directors is just one example of
where leadership skills can lead.
There are
also many nontraditional paths in the
community that can assist in developing
future leaders. We believe that leadership
is not defined by a role, but by actions and
encourage acute and critical care nurses to
think both within AACN and "outside the box"
when seeking to acquire leadership skills.
Just think of how acquiring these skills can
assist you in using your bold voice!
Resources
to Help Develop Skills
AACN defines
leadership as the ability to influence
oneself and others to interdependently
accomplish work and reach defined outcomes.
The AACN Leadership Framework identifies
Ambassador and Intellectual skills as the
two competencies required to be effective
leaders. This framework is available online
at www.aacn.org or by calling AACN Fax on
Demand at (800) 222-6329. Request Document
#1073.
In addition,
It's All About You � A Blueprint for
Influencing Practice is an AACN publication
compiled by the Leadership Development Work
Group to identify key skills needed for
leadership. As part of AACN's commitment to
the ongoing needs of nurses who care for
patients who are acutely and critically ill,
this valuable resource is designed to
inspire and promote leadership development.
It was created to help nurses to understand
their ability to influence both their
personal and professional lives, which will
then support them in making their optimal
contribution. Based on a comprehensive
literature review and a survey of more than
700 critical care nurses, four skills were
identified that are essential in influencing
nursing practice:
�
Self-awareness
� Dialogue
� Conflict
resolution
� Navigating
change
This
leadership blueprint answers frequently
asked questions about how these skills apply
to working with patients and families, in
the practice environment, as well as within
a chapter. It also includes articles,
self-ratings and toolboxes to help nurses to
understand how they can influence practice.
This publication is available online at
www.aacn.org > Bookstore or by calling (800)
899-2226 and requesting Item #120635. The
price is $10 ($12) for nonmembers.
Leadership Opportunities Within Healthcare
There are
many options within AACN to acquire and
demonstrate leadership skills. Opportunities
include chapter leadership roles, work
groups, advisory teams, review panels,
learning partners, AACN Ambassadors, AACN
Certification Corporation Board of Directors
or appeals panel, AACN Nominating Committee,
AACN Board of Directors, speaker and author.
Of course, matching the level of commitment
required with personal and professional
demands is important to support growth and
to feel good, not guilty, about one's
contribution.
A wide range
of opportunities also exist in the
healthcare arena. For example, volunteer
organizations, such as the American Heart
Association, American Lung Association and
American Cancer Society, are closely aligned
to many of AACN's core causes related to
care of the critically ill patient.
Providing lectures to community groups about
end-of-life care or advanced directives and
prevention of cardiovascular disease are
among the topics that can be addressed.
Providing education not only is a wonderful
service to the community, but also helps to
enhance knowledge and presentation skills.
Speaking at schools or fairs about nursing
as a career is another way to hone
communication skills. Participating on a
committee within a society is yet another
way to learn skills, such as dialogue and
self-awareness.
Leadership Opportunities Beyond AACN
Consider
also the vast array of opportunities in your
community or region. Denise Thornby, a past
AACN president, was a Girl Scout leader and
often recounted the leadership skills she
learned through her involvement. For
example, she noted, camping with a group of
energetic teenagers assists in developing
the skills of conflict resolution and
navigating change! In addition, settings
such as PTAs, places of worship, school
boards or neighborhood associations can
support refinement of leadership skills.
One of the
authors of this article is a member of
Toastmasters International, an organization
with clubs in practically every community
that provides both public speaking and
leadership tracks to facilitate effective
communication in a nonthreatening
environment. In addition to being fun,
Toastmasters provide a vast array of
educational materials related to AACN's
leadership skills.
Member
Recruitment Campaign Near 4,000 Mark in
March
AACN's Critical Links membership recruitment
campaign had neared the 4,000 new-member
mark when it entered its final month in
April. Final results of the campaign, which
ended April 30, will be announced in June.
The top recruiter in the campaign, as well
as the winners of prize drawings were to be
announced at AACN's National Teaching
Institute and Critical Care Exposition this
month in San Antonio, Texas.
At the end
of March, 319 new members had been recruited
by 236 individual members and 120 new
members had been recruited by 36 chapters.
The total of 439 new members recruited
during March boosted the total to 3,881
since the campaign began May 1, 2002.
Two
recruiters-Carolyn Axt, RN, MS, of Oakland
Calif., and Cynthia A. Noe, RN, BSN, of
Albany, Ga., were neck-and-neck at the end
of March in the race to recruit the most
members. Axt had recruited 51 new members
and Noe 50 new members.
Others who
had recruited 20 or more new members by the
end of March were Becki L. Fuzi, RN, MSN,
CCRN, (38) of Warrenton, Va.; Julie N.
Liberio, RN, MSN, CCRN, (37) of Naperville,
Ill.; Kathleen M. Richuso, RN, MSN, (36) of
Chapel Hill, N.C.; Yvonne Thelwell, RN, (31)
of Miami, Fla.; Lauretta M. Joseph, RN, MSN,
CCRN, NP, (29) of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Lydia C.
Bautista, RN, BSN, CCRN, (29) of
Jacksonville, Fla.; Diane M. Casperson, RN,
BSN, CCRN, (24) of Beresford, S.D.; and
Elaine B. Boseman, RN, CCRN, CLNC, (23) of
Williamsburg, Va.
The
individual recruiting the most new members
in the campaign will receive a $500 American
Express gift certificate. In addition, the
top individual recruiter is eligible for the
first-, second- and third-place prize
drawings. Each month, members who recruited
at least one new member during the month
were also entered into a monthly drawing for
a $100 American Express gift certificate.
The individual winner in the monthly drawing
for March was Catherine Rochford, RN, MA, of
Atkinson, N.H.
Following
are those who recruited new members during
the month of March:
Charlotte
Abercrombie, RN, BSN, CCRN, Mary Adams, RNC,
BS, Pam Adkins, RN, ADN, Gladys Alarva, RN,
MS, CCRN, Althea Alder-Brown, RN, BSN,
Pamela Almandinger, RN, ADN, Mary Altman,
RN, ADN, Dian Anderson, Armi Elena Aragon,
RN, BSN, AA, CCRN, Kristina
Arrington-Cherry, RN, DSN, CCRN, NP, Ann
Austin, RN, BSN, BA, Jeanette Babbitt, RN,
BS, BSN, CCRN, Stephanie Baker, RN, Patricia
Balzano, RN, BS, CCRN, Nancy Baranello, RN,
ADN, BS, Kupiri Barger, RN, BSN, CCRN,
Katherine Barlow, RN, BS, BSN, Jill Barrow,
RN, CNS, CCRN, Risa Barton, RN, BS, BSN,
Kimberly Basil, RN, BS, BSN, Danilo Beltran,
RN, BSN, CCRN, CEN, Michael Beshel, RN, BSN,
CCRN, CEN, Martha Biddle, RN, MSN, Barbara
Blanchard, RN, ADN, BA, Lynn Booher, RN,
BSN, Elaine Boseman, RN, CCRN, CLNC, Sherry
Braden, RN, ADN, Marylee Bressie, RN, CNS,
MSN, CCRN, CEN, Dot Brosig, RN, ADN, Tracey
Brown, RN, ADN, Mary Lynn Brown, RN, BSN,
MSN, PhD, Kathleen Burton, RN, BSN, CCRN,
Debbi Bush, RN, BS, BSN, Mary Calderon, RN,
BS, BSN, Anita Campbell, RN, BSN, CCRN,
Karen Campf, BSN, CCRN, Beverly Carlson, RN,
CNS, MS, CCRN, Cynthia Carroll, ADN, Deborah
Caruso, RN, BSN, AA, CCRN, Nancy Case, RN,
Deborah Cassidy, RN, Lydia Casteel, RN, ADN,
CCRN, Bonnie Cerrato, RN, ADN, AA, Pamela
Chapman, RN, MSN, CCRN, Karen Chirumbolo,
RN, BSN, Evelyn Cioletti, RN, BSN, Nanette
Clark, RN, MS, CCRN, Joan Cook, RN, Doyle
Coons, RN, BS, BSN, Kim Coons, RN, BS, BSN,
Patrice Crawford, RN, BSN, Sue Crisp, RN,
BSN, Vickie Custer, RN, BS, CCRN, Mary
Davis, RN, BS, BSN, Susan Davis, RN, CNS,
MSN, CCRN, Jeannine Davis, RN, Yanira De
Jesus, RN, BS, BSN, Cynthia Desierto ,
Cynthia Dickerson, RN, BSN, Nan Diefendorf,
RN, CNS, MS, MSN, Sophia Donaldson, RN, ADN,
Carol Dugan, RN, BSN, BA, Janelle Eanes, RN,
ADN, Barbara Economou-Morris, RN, MA, Jana
Edney-Poole, RN, BSN, Ross Ehrmantraut, RN,
ADN, BA, CCRN, CEN, Marie Eidam, RN, MS,
Ronald Estrella, RN, BSN, CCRN, Bridget
Everhart, RN, MSN, CCRN, Sherry Fayer-Burns,
RN, CEN, Joi Fernelius, RN, BA, Laura Fieg,
RN, BS, BSN, Nathalie Fleureau, RN, Dorothy
Flowers, RN, BSN, Cheree Fontenot, RN, BS,
BSN, Helena Francis, RN, ADN, Candace Furio,
RN, BS, BSN, Becki L. Fuzi, RN, MSN, CCRN,
Noreen Gallagher, RN, ADN, Lisa Gingerich,
RN, BS, BSN, Shelly Glaze, RN, ADN, Pamela
Gordon, RN, BS, BSN, Mary Gossett, RN, MSN,
CCRN, Maureen Gough, RN, ADN, Kim Green, RN,
Karen Greenawald, RN, MS, MPH, CCRN, ARNP,
Christa Guidry, RN, BS, BSN, Lois Hamill,
RN, BSN, Jeffrey Hamilton, Gail Hannay, RN,
BS, BSN, Mary Hanvey, RN, MS, MSN, NP, Kathy
Hartley, RN, ADN, Jane Hartman, RN, MS, CCRN,
Kerrie Hayton, RN, BS, BSN, Jacquelyn
Hemperly, RN, CCRN, Stephanie Herbert, RN,
BS, BSN, Lucille Hicks, RN, BS, CCRN, Carol
Hinkle, RN, MSN, BA, CCRN, Anni Hinson, RN,
BS, BSN, Jeannette Hoenig, RN, ADN, AA,
Susie Hood, RN, BSN, CNRN, Jana Hough, RN,
BSN, CCRN, Jerry Hubbard, RN, BSN, Alfie
Ignacio, RN, BSN, CCRN, CEN, Dorothy Ingram,
RN, Deborah Jackson, RN, BS, BSN, Mary Jaco,
RN, MSN, Kathryn Jajich, RN, ADN, Barbara
Johnson, Lauretta Joseph, RN, MSN, CCRN, NP,
Patricia Juarez, RN, MS, BA, CCRN, CCNS,
Nicole Judice, RN, BSN, Jaclyn Kaiser, RN,
BS, BSN, Louisa Kamatuka, RN, MSN, BA, CCRN,
CS, Beryl Keegan, Deborah Keim, RN, BS, BSN,
CEN, Lynn Kelso, RN, MSN, NP, Lori Kennedy,
RN, BSN, CCRN, Donna Kerner, RN, MS, CCRN,
Linda King, RN, ADN, Tony Kloft, RN, BS,
BSN, Debra Kunicki, RN, Lixieleen Labrador,
RN, Francine Latourette, RN, Que Le, RN,
BSN, Nanda Lerchbaum-Nwokocha, RN, ADN, AA,
CCRN, CEN, Michael Loga, RN, BSN, CCRN,
Elizabeth Lopez, RN, BS, BSN, Paula Lusardi,
RN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, Karen Lutter, RN,
Carolyn Madison, RN, ADN, AA, Rosita Maley,
RN, MN, CCRN, Michele Manning, RN, MSN, CCRN,
CCNS, Lily May Marifosque, RN, BSN, CCRN,
Ellen Marsh, RN, BSN, CCRN, Timothy Martin,
RN, BS, BSN, Elaine Mayo, RN, MSN, Beth
McCarthy, RN, BSN, CCRN, Susan Mcfarland,
RN, Pauline McNeece, RN, MSN, CCRN, Marlene
Merdes, RN, Pamela Mikesell, RN, BS, BSN,
Nicolette Mininni, RN, MEd, CCRN, Patricia
Moncman, RN, MS, MSN, CNRN, Susan Moore, RN,
ADN, Debra Moroney, RN, MSN, Theresa Morris,
RN, ADN, Carol Morris, RN, MSN, CCRN, Kelly
Murphy, RN, BSN, TNCC, Patricia Musso, RN,
Denise Nelson, RN, BS, BSN, Linda Nicholson,
RN, BSN, AA, CCRN, Brenda Obleada, RN, BSN,
BS, Mandy O'Brien, RN, BSN, AA, Mary
O'Connor, RN, MSN, Donna O'Neill, RN, ADN,
CCRN, Kristen Oster, RN, BS, BSN, Suzanne
O'Sullivan, RN, BSN, Jacqueline Pajkowski,
RN, ADN, Sarah Pataluna, RN, Linda Payne,
RN, ADN, June Pearson, RN, Kathleen Peavy,
RN, MS, CCRN, Douglas Peterson, RN, ADN, MS,
Kathryn Pettett, RN, BSN, CCRN, Sheryl
Pierce, RN, BSN, CCRN, Stephanie Pike, RN,
ADN, Barbara Pope, RN, MSN, CCRN, Debra
Potempa, RN, BS, BSN, Paz Pradhan, RN, BSN,
CCRN, Debra Pronitis-Ruotolo, RN, BSN, CCRN,
Deborah Provost, RN, ADN, Sofia Puerto, RN,
MSN, PhD, CCRN, Maria Jocelyn Quinto, RN,
LPN, BS, BSN, Dee Ann Radcliffe, RN, BS,
CCRN, Esther Rathjen, RN, BS, BSN, Nancy
Reyes, RN, BS, BSN, Irma Richardson, RN, BS,
CCRN, Kathleen Richuso, RN, MSN, Catherine
Rochford, RN, MA, Linda Ross, RN, BS, BSN,
Nancy Russ, RN, ADN, AA, CCRN, Catherine
Saniuk, RN, MS, CCRN, Paul Scherer, RN, ADN,
Gisela Schmidt, RN, BSN, Paula Schmidt, RN,
BSN, CCRN, Margaret Schuch, RN, MSN, AA,
CCRN, Pamela Scott, RN, BSN, MBA, Donna
Sellars, RN, BSN, CCRN, Roderick Serrano,
RN, Patrick Shane, RN, ADN, BS, Eunice
Simmons, RN, MSN, CCRN, Lynn Smith Schnautz,
RN, MSN, CCRN, CCNS, Jovita Solomon-Duarte,
RN, BSN, CCRN, Lynn Sonderman, RN, ADN,
Linda Spoelma, RN, BSN, CCRN, Cynthia
Spradlin, RN, BSN, Susan Stahl, RN, BSN,
Joel Stanfill, RN, ADN, BS, Carolyn Steed,
RN, MN, CCRN, Elaine Steinke, RN, MN, PhD,
Janice Stevens, RN, BSN, CCRN, CNRN, Elaine
Stevens, RN, BS, MSN, CCRN, CCNS, Kerri
Stevenson, RN, BSN, CCRN, Marie Stokes, RN,
BS, BSN, CNRN, Mary Strickland, RN, BSN, AA,
CCRN, Laura Strood, RN, ADN, Doris Strother,
RN, MSN, CRNP, Debra Sunderland, RN, BS,
BSN, Mary Surgalski, RN, BSN, CCRN, Rosanna
Tangredi, RN, BSN, CCRN, Yvonne Thelwell,
RN, Lilienne Thomas, RN, MS, Rebecca
Thompson, RN, AA, Alexis Turner, RN, BSN,
AA, Scott Varner, RT, ADN, Amelia Veltman,
BS, Pam Wagers, RN, BSN, CCRN, Anne Walker,
RN, RT, ADN, BS, Patricia Walker, RN, ADN,
Maria Wallace, RN, BSN, CCRN, Kristin
Wallach, RN, BSN, CCRN, Yolanda Walls, RN,
BS, CCRN, Pamela Walsh, RN, Tina Walters,
RN, BS, CCRN, Rebecca Webb, RN, Judith
Whitlock, RN, MSN, Mary Wilson, RN, MSN, CS,
Joan Wilson, RN, BSN, CCRN, Erin
Wittenberger, BA, Gloria Young, RN, BS, BSN,
Michael Young, RN, BS, BSN, Chin Yu, RN, MN,
MS, Elizabeth Zewe, RN, BSN, CCRN, Penny
Zimmerman, RN, BSN.
Nominations Invited for National Leadership
Posts
Do you want
to help lead AACN in achieving its mission
and vision or do you know someone you think
would provide strong and effective
leadership?
Consider the
national leadership positions that are
available on the AACN Board of Directors,
AACN Certification Corporation Board of
Directors and the AACN Nominating Committee.
Terms begin July 1, 2004.
Simply
complete the nomination form, which is
available online at
http://www.aacn.org.
The AACN Leadership Framework is also
available online or via Fax on Demand at
(800) 222-6329 (#1073).
Following
are the positions for which nominations are
being sought. Reimbursement for travel as
well as other expenses are provided for all
of these national volunteer positions.
Nominations
close June 13, 2003.
AACN
Board of Directors
(3
positions open, 3-year terms)
Accountabilities:
� Establish
the vision, mission and values statements
for the association.
� Ensure
effective organizational planning.
�
Effectively manage the association's
resources.
� Determine,
monitor and strengthen the association's
programs and services.
� Uphold
legal requirements and ethical integrity.
� Recruit
and orient new board members and assess
board performance.
� Ensure
effective communication between AACN and
AACN Certification Corporation and other
subsidiaries of the association.
Qualifications:
� Active
membership in AACN
� Active
commitment to and understanding of AACN and
its mission, vision and values
�
Demonstrated leadership skills as defined in
the AACN Leadership Framework
AACN
Certification Corporation Board of Directors
(2
positions open, 3-year terms)
Accountabilities:
� Define and
support the corporation's vision, mission
and values.
� Ensure
effective planning that is based on the
corporation's mission, vision and values.
� Ensure
effective strategic planning.
�
Effectively manage the corporation's
resources.
� Determine,
monitor, evaluate and strengthen the
corporation's programs and services.
� Act with
integrity and uphold all legal requirements
of the corporation.
� Assess
board performance and ensure board
succession.
� Ensure
effective communication between AACN and the
corporation.
Qualifications:
� Nurses
certified by the corporation, other nurses
and consumer representatives are eligible.
�
Demonstrated leadership skills as defined in
the AACN Leadership Framework
� Commitment
to and understanding of AACN Certification
Corporation and its mission, vision and
values
� AACN
membership not required
Nominating Committee
(3
positions open, 1-year terms)
Accountabilities:
� Ensure the
election process is in accordance with
established procedures, policies and bylaws.
� Conduct
comprehensive interviews of nominees.
� Review,
synthesize and analyze nominee applications,
references and interview transcripts.
� Through
group process, select candidates.
�
Communicate the committee's decisions and
feedback to the nominees.
Celebrate in May
Although
critical care nurses are special year round,
May is set aside for special recognition.
Again this year, AACN has joined with the
Society of Critical Care Medicine and the
American College of Chest Physicians in
sponsoring National Critical Care Awareness
and Recognition Month this month.
Also being
recognized this month are National Nurses
Week (May 6 through 12), National Nurses Day
(May 6) and National Student Nurses Day (May
8).
AACN
applauds all nurses and recognizes them for
their contributions to the profession and to
patient care.
Circle
of Excellence Embraces Those Making a
Difference
Application Materials Due July 15
How have you
made a difference in healthcare? In the
lives of patients and their families? In
your communities? Share your stories, and
you might find yourself in AACN's Circle of
Excellence, an awards program that
recognizes outstanding contributions by
critical care nurses and others who
exemplify AACN's mission, vision, values and
ethic of care.
Nominations
and applications for these awards for 2004
are due July 15. Awards will be announced in
AACN publications and at AACN's 2004
National Teaching Institute and Critical
Care Exposition, May 15-20 in Orlando, Fla.
All
recipients are presented a personalized
plaque. Some also receive honorariums,
monetary awards or complimentary
registration, airfare and accommodations to
the NTI.
Two new
awards have been added to the prestigious
list of honors that are available in 2004:
Excellence in Collaboration Awards and AACN
Certification Corporation-Value of
Certification Award.
To obtain a
Circle of Excellence awards application,
call (800) 899-2226 or visit the AACN Web
site. The application is also available on
Fax on Demand at (800) 222-6329. Request
Document #1011.
Following is
information about the awards that are
available:
AACN
Lifetime Member Award
This award
recognizes AACN members who have rendered
distinguished service to the association and
demonstrated potential for continued
contributions to acute and critical care
nursing through AACN. In addition to
lifetime AACN membership, the recipients are
presented a crystal replica of the AACN
vision icon.
Honorary
Member Award
This award
recognizes individuals who have made
significant contributions to the advancement
of care for acutely and critically ill
patients and their families. In addition to
honorary membership in AACN, the recipients
are presented a crystal replica of the AACN
vision icon.
AACN-Marguerite
Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished
Career
Named in
honor of AACN Past President Marguerite R.
Kinney, RN, DNSc, FAAN, this award
recognizes individuals who are completing or
have completed an extraordinary and
distinguished professional career that has
enhanced the care of acutely and critically
ill patients and their families by
furthering the mission and vision of AACN.
Honorees receive a gift of $1,000 to a
charitable cause of their choice, as well as
lifetime AACN membership and a replica of
the crystal.
Ross
Products-AACN Pioneering Spirit Award
Cosponsored
by the Ross Products Division of Abbott
Laboratories, this award recognizes timely
and far-reaching contributions that
exemplify a pioneering spirit and influence
the direction of acute and critical care
nursing regionally or nationally. Recipients
are presented a $500 honorarium and a
crystal replica of the AACN vision icon.
Distinguished Research Lectureship Award
The award
honors a nationally known researcher who
will present the annual Distinguished
Research Lecture at the 2005 NTI in New
Orleans, La. The lecturer receives an
honorarium of $1,000, an additional $1,000
toward NTI expenses and a crystal replica of
the AACN vision icon, funded by a grant by
Philips Medical Systems.
Note: The
deadline to submit nominations for this
award is Dec. 1.
Excellence in Caring Practices Award
Presented in
honor of John Wilson Rodgers, this award
recognizes nurses whose caring practices
embody AACN's vision of a healthcare system
driven by the needs of patients and
families. Recipients demonstrate how they
have encompassed AACN's values and ethic of
care in their practice.
3M Health
Care Excellence in Clinical Practice Award
Sponsored by
3M Health Care, this award recognizes acute
and critical care nurses who embody,
exemplify and excel at the clinical skills
and principles that are required in their
practice.
Excellence in Clinical
Practice-Non-Traditional Setting
This award
is designed to recognize excellence in the
care of critically ill patients in
environments outside of the traditional ICU/CCU
setting. Eligible applicants include, but
are not limited to nurses working in home
healthcare, progressive care, telemetry,
catheterization labs and emergency
departments.
Oridion
Capnography Excellent Clinical Nurse
Specialist Award
Sponsored by
Oridion Capnography, this award recognizes
acute and critical care nurses who function
as clinical nurse specialists. Applicants
must be CCNS certified and, in addition to
demonstrating the key components of advanced
practice nursing, illustrate how they have
been a catalyst for successful change.
Excellent
Nurse Practitioner Award
This award
recognizes acute and critical care nurses
who function as nurse practitioners.
Applicants must be ACNP certified. In
addition to demonstrating the key components
of advanced practice nursing, recipients
illustrate how they have served as a
catalyst for successful change.
Excellent
Nursing Student Award
This award
recognizes nursing students whose activities
during nursing school have promoted the
value of nursing and reflect the AACN vision
of creating a healthcare system driven by
the needs of patients and families, where
critical care nurses can make their optimal
contribution. Individual students or groups
of students are eligible to apply.
Recipients receive a complimentary
three-year AACN membership.
Excellence in Research Award
This award
recognizes nurse researchers who are
furthering the mission, vision and research
priorities of AACN. Recipients of AACN
research grants or NTI research abstract
award recipients are not eligible for this
award.
Research
Abstract Award
This award
recognizes research abstracts that display
outstanding merit and particular relevance
to critical care nursing. Recipients are
selected from among the research and
research utilization abstracts submitted for
the NTI. Abstract submissions must be
received by Sept. 1. Successful applicants
receive $1,000 toward NTI expenses.
Excellent
Nurse Manager Award
This award
recognizes nurse managers who demonstrate
excellence in coordination of available
resources to efficiently and effectively
care for acute or critically ill patients
and families.
Eli Lilly
& Company Excellent Preceptor Award
Sponsored by
Eli Lilly & Company, this award recognizes
preceptors who demonstrate the key
components of the preceptor role, including
teacher, clinical role model, consultant and
friend/advocate.
Mentoring
Award
This award
recognizes individuals or groups who develop
and enhance another's intellectual and
technical skills, acculturating them to the
professional community, and modeling a way
of life and professional achievement.
Excellence in Leadership Award
This award
recognizes nurses who demonstrate the
leadership competencies of empowerment,
effective communication and continuous
learning, and the effective management of
change.
Excellence in Education Award
This award
recognizes nurse educators who facilitate
the acquisition and advancement of the
knowledge and skills required for competent
practice and positive patient outcomes in
the care of acute and critically ill
patients and their families.
Marsh-AACN Community Service Award
Cosponsored
by Marsh Affinity Group Services, a service
of Seabury and Smith, this award recognizes
significant service by acute and critical
care nurses, as individuals or in groups, in
making a contribution to their communities
that also projects a positive image of
critical care nursing. Individuals or groups
selected for this award may also choose to
receive either one complimentary NTI
registration or up to $500 toward speaker
fees for an educational symposium.
Media
Award
This award
recognizes broadcast and Web-based media
excellence in the portrayal of healthcare
providers, especially acute and critical
care nurses, contributing to a healthcare
system driven by the needs of patients and
families. Successful entries present
relevant nursing and healthcare topics to
large audiences of consumers, including the
general public, patients and families.
AACN
Certification Corporation-Value of
Certification Award
Sponsored by
AACN Certification Corporation, this award
recognizes contributions that support and
foster the advancement of certified nursing
practice in critical care. Recipients are
also presented a $500 honorarium.
Excellence in Collaboration Awards
These awards
honor innovative contributions to
collaborative practice by nurses who care
for acutely and critically ill patients and
their families. Applications can be
submitted in four categories:
�
Nurse-Physician Collaboration
�
Nurse-Administration Collaboration
�
Nurse-Family Collaboration
�
Multidisciplinary Team Collaboration.
At least one
of the collaborators must be an active AACN
member. Each recipient will also be
presented a $1,500 honorarium.
Scene
and Heard
AACN
continues to seek visibility for our
profession and the organization. Following
is an update on recent outreach efforts:
Our Voice
in the Media
- The Feb.
24. 2003, issue of Nursing Spectrum featured
an article titled "Newly Released Report
Promotes Value of Critical Care
Certification," by Ruth M. Kleinpell, RN,
PhD, FAAN, CCRN. As part of the article,
several nurses were interviewed about the
benefits of certification. Tom Gutchewsky,
RN, MSN, CANP, of Gottlieb Memorial
Hospital, Melrose Park, Illinois, said,
"Certification gives nurses confidence in
their abilities. It makes them better nurses
overall." Keith Harmon, RN, BSN, CCRN, of
Rockford Memorial Hospital, Rockford, Ill.,
said, "Having specialty certification adds
to the ability of nursing staff to handle
complex situations. In studying for the
critical care nursing certification exam
myself, I realized the amount of information
nurses are required to know is phenomenal."
- In her
editorial for the March 2003 issue of
Nursing Management, Editor in Chief Melissa
A. Fitzpatrick, RN, MSN, FAAN, a past AACN
president, discussed the importance of
certification in an era of nursing shortages
and cost cutting. She referenced AACN's
white paper, "Safeguarding the Patient and
the Profession: The Value of Critical Care
Nurse Certification," noting that "while
licensure measures entry-level competence,
certification validates specialty knowledge,
experience, and clinical judgment."
- The March
2003 issue of RN magazine featured excerpts
from the "President's Note" column by AACN
President Connie Barden, RN, MSN, CCNS, CCRN.
In the column, which appeared in its
entirety in the February 2003 issue of AACN
News, Barden discussed the importance of
certification as presented in AACN's
landmark report, "Safeguarding the Patient
and the Profession: The Value of Critical
Care Certification." The "Update" section
also included information on the keynote
speakers at AACN's 2003 National Teaching
Institute and Critical Care Exposition, May
17 through 22 in San Antonio, Texas.
- An article
in the March 3, 2003, issue of Kansas City
Nursing News noted that the Surgical
Cardiovascular Quality Improvement Team at
Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Shawnee
Mission, Kan., was the recipient of a 2003
AACN Circle of Excellence Award. The AACN
Multidisciplinary Team award will be
presented at the NTI in San Antonio.
- In an
article in March, titled "AACN in San
Antonio, Texas � Bold Voices," StarMed.com
featured the 2003 NTI and Critical Care
Exposition, including the benefits of
attending and background information on the
speakers.
Our Voice
at the Table
- Suzanne
Prevost, RN, PhD, chair-elect of the AACN
Certification Corporation Board of
Directors, and Carol Hartigan, RN,
certification director, attended the
American Board of Nursing Specialties spring
meeting in Arlington, Va. Prevost chaired
the second meeting of the ABNS Research
Committee, which worked on three initiatives
during the meeting: analysis and reporting
of data collected from nurse managers
regarding their perceptions of certified
staff; continued work on development of an
annotated bibliography of nursing
certification research; and design of a
second phase study of nurse managers using a
qualitative method.
- AACN
President-Elect Dorrie Fontaine, RN, DNSc,
FAAN, attended the Valley Nursing Education
Council's ninth annual meeting and
conference of the San Fernando Valley and
Los Angeles Area Advisory Board in Van Nuys,
Calif. She and Mary Jane Engsberg, RN, MS,
director of nursing education at Cottage
Hospital, Santa Barbara, Calif., facilitated
a dialogue on managing workplace
relationships between academia and service.
- Suzanne
Burns, RN, MSN, RRT, ACNP-CS, CCRN, FAAN, a
member of the AACN Board of Directors, was a
keynote speaker at the 12th annual Critical
Care Concepts Cardiovascular/Pulmonary
Symposium, sponsored by Sentara Healthcare,
in Norfolk, Va. Her topic was "Bold Voices:
We have �em, we need �em, let's use �em."
Burns spoke on the factors that affect the
current healthcare environment and critical
care nurses' ability to contribute optimally
to care of patients and their families. She
described ways that we can have a bold voice
in our work environments and beyond and the
importance of each individual's efforts to
make a difference.
- Janie
Heath, RN, MS, CS, CCRN, ANP, ACNP,
represented AACN at a Capitol Hill
roundtable on "Safeguarding the Public's
Health: Educating the Nation's Nurses." The
discussion focused on efforts by U.S. Rep.
Lois Capp, RN, (D-Calif.) in support of the
Nurse Reinvestment Act and formation of a
nursing caucus to educate Congress about the
nursing profession and how nursing issues
affect the delivery of quality patient care.
The roundtable, which brought together
nursing school deans from across the
country, was hosted by the Friends of the
Division of Nursing at George Mason
University, Washington, D.C., where Heath is
a doctoral student.
- Ramon
Lavandero, RN, MA, MSN, FAAN, AACN director
of development and strategic alliances,
participated in a panel discussion sponsored
by the Board of Advisors of the Indiana
University School of Nursing, Indianapolis.
In discussing key nursing issues, the panel
gave Indiana business and healthcare leaders
access to the ideas of national nursing
leaders. Lavandero serves on the Board of
Advisors and is a clinical associate
professor at the school.
- Justine
Medina, RN, MS, AACN practice and research
director, presented the keynote speech at
the Certification Recognition dinner
sponsored by the South Bay Chapter of AACN,
San Jose, Calif. Her presentation, titled
"Voice of Nursing and Effective Message
Delivery," gave the attendees practical
tools to amplify their voice and share the
commitment of certification. The dinner,
which honored 20 CCRNs and CCNSs, was
sponsored in part by Lilly Critical Care,
Pio Travel and Stryker Medical.
- Medina
presented a hands-on educational session
titled "Writing an Exemplar to Truly Reflect
Nurse's Contributions" at UCI Medical
Center, Irvine, Calif. The session was in
connection with the UCI Nurse's Recognition
Awards program.
- Rebecca
Long, RN, MS, CNS, CCRN, a member of the
AACN and AACN Certification Corporation
boards of directors, spoke at the Critical
Care Trends conference, sponsored by the
Greater St. Louis Chapter, St. Louis, Mo.
Long presented an overview of aromatherapy,
pet therapy and music therapy in a talk
titled "Lavender, Lassie, and Brahms: A New
Look at Old Therapies." She also delivered
the closing message, "Bold Voices: In Search
of a Rainbow."
- Several
AACN leaders spoke at a leadership workshop
sponsored by the Three Rivers Chapter,
Pittsburgh, Pa. Carol Puz, RN, BSN, MS, CCRN,
an AACN board member, presented the opening
session, titled "Leadership, the Nursing
Shortage, the Challenges, Today and
Tomorrow." Mary McKinley, RN, MSN, CCRN,
spoke on "Mentoring Matters: Creating,
Connecting, Empowering"; Denise Thornby, RN,
MS, presented "Leadership Challenges: Make
It So"; and Gladys Campbell, RN, MSN, spoke
on "Nursing Research as Part of Everyday
Nursing Practice: Creating an Environment
for Clinical Excellence." All are past
presidents of AACN.
If you or
your chapter has reached out to the media or
other groups to promote critical care
nursing, we'd like to know. E-mail your
information to
Judy.Wilkin@aacn.org.
In the
Circle: Award Recognizes Excellence in
Caring Practice
Editor's
note: The Excellence in Caring Practices
Award, which is presented in honor of John
Wilson Rodgers, recognizes nurses whose
caring practices embody AACN's vision of
creating a healthcare system driven by the
needs of patients and families. Recipients
for 2002 were provided complimentary
registration, airfare and hotel
accommodations for the NTI in Atlanta, Ga.
July 15 is the deadline to submit
application materials for the 2004 awards.
Following are excerpts from exemplars
submitted in connection with the 2002
awards.
Megan
Rehwoldt, RN, BSN
Foothill
Ranch, Calif.
Mission
Hospital
On her 30th
birthday, Carrie found herself lying beside
her brain-dead husband Steve. The mother of
two had found out about his brain tumor only
after he completed a triathlon the weekend
prior. I had the privilege of meeting this
family, providing support and attempting to
help them through the death of a young man.
I asked
Carrie if she wanted to spend some time
alone with her husband. She readily agreed.
A coworker helped to move Steve to one side
of the bed, where Carrie joined him, and we
covered them both with a warm blanket.
Later, Carrie said she felt Steve's presence
leave during those few moments they shared
together.
The day that
Steve died is a constant reminder to me that
nursing is more than merely providing
physical care. It means providing for all
aspects of the patient, as well as the
family. Steve's death reinforced the
importance of creating an environment that
allows patients and families a safe outlet
to express their thoughts, fears and
desires. We should all be so lucky to have a
chance to say goodbye.
Cindy
Damboise, RN, BSN, CCRN
Stevenson
Ranch, Calif.
Providence Holy Cross Medical Center
As a
critical care nurse for 20 years, my
commitment to meeting the needs of patients
and families has been the driving force of
my duties. Two years ago, I implemented a
family-centered care model in our 24-bed
combined ICU, CCU, trauma, cardiac and
surgical unit. The focus of our
interdisciplinary team was to improve
patient care and customer satisfaction. The
project was highly valued by the
organization, as evidenced by the immediate
acceptance as a performance improvement
initiative. As the role model, I welcomed
the challenges in the culture change in our
unit. The team provided the staff the
necessary tools to support families.
However,
John and his family presented a challenge.
He had been admitted in critical condition
with multisystem failure. The family had
received minimal information and had many
questions. In a family conference, the
physicians presented the condition to the
family, enabling them to cope with the
situation. Although they felt it was in
their father's best interest to have no
heroic measures taken, they felt tremendous
guilt over their decision. I assured them
that their father would receive
compassionate care.
As John's
condition deteriorated over the next 24
hours, the family's fear and despair were
minimal. John died in his wife's arms the
following morning. After the family had seen
their father, they thanked every nurse who
had cared for him. How different things had
been just 24 hours earlier.
Family-centered care is a main focus in our
unit. It has raised our nursing standards in
regard to excellence, compassion and patient
advocacy. As a critical care nurse, I am
honored to deliver this care to my patients
and families.
Karen N.
Hamilton, RNC, CEN, CCRN, CFRN, MICN, NREMT-P,
CCEMT-P
Manassas,
Va.
Aeromedical Transport Specialists, Inc.
A critical
care nurse with 28 years experience, who is
now chief flight nurse and program director
for Aeromedical Transport Specialists, Inc.,
Karen Hamilton specializes in transporting
patients over long distances by fixed-wing
aircraft. Karen has found a way to use her
passion and love of teddy bears to bring joy
and comfort to her patients over the years
and in many unique situations. Karen often
uses teddy bears as a distraction for
elderly and young patients alike.
The story of
5-year-old Citlatti, who suffered from a
terminal Wilm's tumor, warms the heart. This
young child named the teddy bear after
herself as a special gift to be left to her
parents. Another special memory involves the
use of a teddy bear during the international
repatriation of an elderly Alzheimer's
patient. This special "friend" served as a
distraction that allowed Karen to complete
all necessary flight tasks with the
patient's full cooperation. A long flight
back to the U.S. was much easier for all
involved thanks to "Teddy."
Karen had
been diagnosed with the connective tissue
disorder Scleroderma 15 years earlier and
was told that she had only seven years to
live. She beat the odds and soon combined
her love of long-distance bicycling and
critical care nursing with teddy bears to
form a nonprofit company called Care Bears
Team, Inc. As part of the official bicycle
team for the Scleroderma Research
Foundation, Karen has bicycled over 17,000
miles to raise awareness and research funds.
In March 2002, Enesco Group, Inc., produced
the Karen and Jeff Cherished Teddies,
donating a portion of the sale proceeds to
the Scleroderma Research Foundation. A soft
and cuddly teddy bear along with a gentle
nurse's touch can help ease the pain and
suffering of many patients.
Maureen
A. Seckel, RN, MSN, CS, CCRN
Newark,
Del.
Christiana Care Health Services
Anna was a
petite, feisty 81-year-old woman I had the
pleasure to meet as the clinical nurse
specialist in my ventilator weaning unit.
Her goals of regaining independence and
weaning off ventilator support were becoming
increasingly more unattainable after several
weeks of working with her and her family.
Anna was
firm in her request not to be maintained on
a ventilator if there was no hope of coming
off and just as firm that she wanted an 82nd
birthday party in two weeks with a party
dress, food, family and friends. The plans
were put into motion, though Anna began to
deteriorate, and there was concern whether
she would make her birthday. Thankfully, the
big day arrived. The lounge was decorated;
the food started to arrive; and Anna's party
began. Family and friends entertained her;
pictures were passed around; and stories
were told.
The hours
passed and the mood changed from one of
resolve to sorrow. The immediate family,
physician, nurses and I had one last
meeting, and around dinnertime, Anna was
removed from the ventilator. Anna died in
the presence of gentle singing, close family
and praying. We hugged, we cried and even
though it was incredibly sad, it was so
meaningful to be able to honor her wishes.
I have been
in contact with Anna's family over the past
year. The experience has left me emotionally
stirred that what we do as nurses in life
(and death) does make a difference. Nurses
can give gifts to their patients by caring
for and recognizing the true individual.
Working with Anna rejuvenated my soul and
spirit in working with the chronically
critically ill population that comprises a
ventilator weaning unit. Anna was a gift.
Michele
J. Young, RN
Richmond,
Va.
VA
Commonwealth University Health Systems/MCV
Hospitals and Physicians
B. was an
87-year-old woman who had been admitted for
respiratory distress from pneumonia. Once a
sprite and strong-willed woman, she was now
lethargic and quickly deteriorating. Prior
to surgery, she said she never wanted to be
kept alive on a ventilator. Because she
could not consent, B.'s family agreed to
what we hoped would be a brief intubation.
After many
weeks, B. could not be weaned. She needed a
tracheostomy or extubation and comfort care.
B. was alert now and more like herself,
often obstinate in her interactions with
others. Many questioned her mental status
and ability to make sound decisions. Through
my relationship with B., I learned that she
reconsidered her prior wishes and wanted a
tracheostomy. Did she really understand? Her
family feared she didn't.
My
philosophy in nursing has always been to
treat patients and families as I would my
own, with the utmost dignity, respect and
best care possible. My goal was to ensure
that B.'s wishes be heard, while instilling
confidence in the family's decision making.
I suggested a psych consult to determine
competence, performed much teaching, and
coordinated family and physician meetings
with B. at the bedside. To try to grasp each
perspective, I often spent a few extra
minutes talking with B. or her family.
Although B.
was trached and rallied briefly, she went
into multiple organ failure and was dying. I
guided B.'s family in the withdrawal process
and stayed with them to the end. There were
many difficult decisions made during B.'s
stay, none of which we could be certain
about. However, B.'s family needed and were
thankful for the extra effort that I took to
help assure them that they were doing the
right things. Likened to family, they, too,
considered me family. Just by being there, I
made a difference.
In the
Circle: Awards Honors Excellence in
Mentoring
Editor's
note: This award recognizes individuals or
groups who develop and enhance another's
intellectual and technical skills,
acculturating them to the professional
community, and modeling a way of life and
professional achievement. Recipients are
presented a personalized plaque. July 15 is
the deadline to submit application materials
for 2004 awards. Following are excerpts from
exemplars submitted in connection with the
2002 awards.
DaiWai
Olson, RN, BSN, CCRN
Durham,
N.C.
Duke
University Hospital
"I will
never nurse again." Tired and frustrated
with my job, I wanted nothing to do with the
profession. So, when we moved, I decided to
stay home with my family.
However,
after nine months, I missed the personal
connection I had with patients and accepted
a position as a staff nurse in the
neuroscience critical care unit at Duke
University Hospital. I wanted to work again,
but only my scheduled 36 hours per week. It
is hard to believe how my career has changed
in the last four years.
DaiWai
Olson, RN, BSN, CCRN, had been working in
the neuro ICU for six months, with 10 years
prior ICU experience. I immediately noticed
his knowledge and enthusiasm for nursing.
His passion for high-quality nursing care is
evident by watching his interactions with
patients, families, staff and extra
projects.
I needed a
resource to increase my knowledge base after
not working for nine months. DaiWai set
aside time at work for hands-on instruction,
educational insight and motivation to change
my career. With the guidance, instruction
and continuous constructive feedback from
DaiWai in all areas of my career, I have
advanced in my profession.
DaiWai
promotes AACN and encouraged me to join and
become involved. With his help and
encouragement, I am now CCRN certified.
After attending my first NTI, I was hooked
and, after deciding to increase my
professional involvement, I again sought
DaiWai's guidance. He encouraged and
supported my clinical ladder advancement,
research projects, poster presentations and
work as a CCRN liaison.
This past
year I realized that DaiWai was not just a
teacher and a good friend. He was my mentor.
It is due to his dedication that nursing has
become my profession not just my job.
Linda A.
Sullivan, RN
Placitas,
N.M.
Linda
Sullivan is one of the finest nurses at the
University of New Mexico Health Sciences
Center. For more that 20 years, she has
personified the meaning of being a nurse. I
am proud to share some of the many ways that
she is a mentor for me.
When I think
of a mentor, I think of teacher, role model,
leader, coach and friend. I think of someone
who is wise, prudent, insightful and smart.
I think of Linda Sullivan. As a preceptor,
Linda gladly accepts the responsibility of
teaching a new nurse or medical student
"just one more way" to look at a critical
situation.
She can
enter a room and in a soft-spoken voice
encourage us to do what is right. She never
makes anyone feel incompetent. Instead, she
empowers others to make the right decision.
She has inspired all of the nurses in our
unit to make a difference in the lives of
their patients and, even in the darkest
moments of her life, her leadership and
compassion for others has brought tears to
my eyes.
No words can
describe the amount of love that the people
in our unit have for this seasoned,
dedicated nurse. Her smile radiates from her
face, and it is a real smile, because there
is no pretending with Linda. She is simply
who she is, and she is a great nurse,
strong, dedicated, hard working, pensive.
She has a magic. Something about her just
won't let you forget her. She is not flashy.
She is not loud. She doesn't have to be in
the center of things; she is not needy. She
is simply a great nurse in an eloquent,
soft-spoken, gentle way.
Damon B.
Cottrell, MS, RN, CS, CCNS, CCRN, CEN
Denton,
Texas
Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas
My journey
as a critical care nurse began in June 1992.
I was nearing the completion of a rigorous
critical care nurse internship program and
met a special person who would later become
my best friend, professional colleague and
mentor.
Over the
last nine years, our professional paths have
continued to cross. My mentor has encouraged
me to take that extra step and has helped me
look within myself to find the resources I
needed to both achieve my goals and
contribute to nursing. His encouragement and
support have challenged me to continue my
education. In fact, he has been instrumental
in my dream to become a clinical nurse
specialist.
My mentor
has never acknowledged the greatness in any
of his work or actions. He is someone who
does what he does because he wants to, not
because of what he stands to gain. I have
been witness to his unselfish commitment
toward helping others less fortunate, even
if it meant giving up something of himself.
As a role
model, he balances the art of bedside
nursing, teaching responsibilities and
community leader with great dignity and
humility. He is the first to advocate for
nursing and the last to complain about the
time commitment. My mentor's achievements
can be measured by looking at the people who
have grown both personally and
professionally through his unwavering
guidance and support.
ECCO
Accommodates Range of Orientation Needs
University
of Kentucky Hospital is a Level 1 trauma
center with seven different critical care
units. Of the hospital's 414 beds, 21% are
devoted to critically ill patients. Although
the hospital provides clinical training for
the university's College of Nursing and five
other area nursing programs, it also needs
to provide orientation to new nurses hired
for its own critical care units.
To meet this
need and build flexibility into the
education process to accommodate shifts, the
hospital recently implemented AACN's
Internet-based Essentials of Critical Care
Orientation program. As a result, according
to Karen Hall, RN, MSN, the critical care
staff development specialist, the hospital
could hire staff when needed instead of
waiting until the next critical care course
was scheduled.
"We started
students in January knowing the system was
coming online," she said "Last year, we
would have waited to hire them until the
next course was available."
The feedback
from the first group of 19 students being
oriented with the new ECCO tool has been
positive.
"The
education that occurs during orientation can
be overwhelming at times, due to the amount
of content the students are expected to
learn," Hall said. "Being able to go back
into the program to review content before
taking a test, or if something is unclear,
is really helpful."
She added
that the students like the convenience of
being able to use ECCO from their homes.
To implement
the program, Hall said the original
structure or timeframe of the hospital's
orientation courses was altered. The
students spend the first two weeks of the
12-week process "getting their feet wet" in
the unit to understand basic patient care
principles. They then follow a prescribed
schedule to complete modules in preparation
for weekly meetings with their preceptors.
With this structure, the clinical experience
matches the content required for that week.
"For
example, after completing the neurologic
module, the students spent a 12-hour shift
in the neuro ICU to apply what they learned
about good neurologic assessments, ICP
measurements, etc.," Hall explained. "We
also gave a copy of the Instructor's Manual
to the preceptors so they would know the
specific content being covered by the
students in a given week. This way, the
preceptors are better prepared to reinforce
content and answer questions."
Over a
12-month period, Hall and her colleagues
will be evaluating this e-learning tool
against a set of metrics to determine the
program's efficacy as compared to their
previous orientation courses. They are
specifically interested in quantifying
increases in organizational effectiveness
and efficiency that may occur as a result of
using this kind of enabling technology. The
evaluation will focus on recruitment and
retention rates, and on determining whether
the orientation training time can be
constricted while maintaining the same or
better student learning outcomes that result
in a cost savings to the institution.
An online
demo of ECCO is available arientation. For
additional information, call (800) 394-5995,
ext. 8870, or e-mail
ecco@aacn.org.
Who Is
Using ECCO?
California
Naval Medical Center San Diego
Regional
Health Occupations Resource Center-Butte
College
Stanford
University Hospital
Sutter Coast
Hospital
Colorado
Memorial Hospital Colorado Springs
Florida
Broward Community College
Lee Memorial
Health System
Department
of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami
Department
of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West
Palm Beach
Illinois
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
Sherman
Hospital
Scott Air
Force Base (375th Medical Group)
Indiana
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Indianapolis
Kentucky
University of Kentucky
Maine Maine
General Medical Center
Maryland
Suburban Hospital
Massachusetts Good Samaritan Medical Center
Minnesota
Allina Hospitals & Clinics
Missouri
CoxHealth System
Montana
Benefis Healthcare
Frances
Mahon Deaconness Hospitals
Nebraska
Good Samaritan Health System
New
Hampshire Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital
New Jersey
Atlantic City Medical Center
Ohio
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, Cincinnati
Oregon
Oregon Health and Science University
Pennsylvania
Dubois Regional Medical Center
Texas Denton
Regional Medical Center
Harris
Methodist Fort Worth
Presbyterian
Hospital
University
Hospital
Hendrick
Medical Center
Utah St.
Mark's Hospital
Virginia Bon
Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center
Martha
Jefferson Hospital
Northern
Virginia Community College
Washington
Capital Medical Center
Kadlec
Medical Center
Northwest
MedStar
Sacred Heart
Medical Center
Sunnyside
Community Hospital
Northwest
Workforce Development Council
Yakima
Valley Memorial Hospital
West
Virginia Princeton Community Hospital
Wyoming
Campbell County Memorial Hospital
Canada Queen
Elizabeth II Hospital, Grand Prairie,
Alberta
Japan U.S.
Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan
In the
Circle: Award Recognizes Excellence in
Leadership
Editor's
note: The Excellence in Leadership Award
recognizes nurses who demonstrate the
leadership competencies of empowerment,
effective communication and continuous
learning, and the effective management of
change. Recipients for 2002 were provided
complimentary registration, airfare and
hotel accommodations for the NTI in Atlanta,
Ga. July 15 is the deadline to submit
application materials for the 2004
awards.Following are excerpts from exemplars
submitted in connection with the 2002
awards.
Elsie B.
Croom, RN, BSN, CCRN
Lafayette, La.
Lafayette
General Medical Center
The word
leadership brings to mind numerous images of
style. To me, leading by example works best.
When I moved
to Lafayette in 1985, I was the only nurse
who had achieved CCRN certification. I
encouraged my peers to apply and soon there
were three certified nurses. I learned at
the NTI that some hospitals paid for
certification, so I made a proposal to our
administrators. Although I initially met
with opposition, they eventually agreed that
certification had merit, and certified
nurses were approved for a $1,000 bonus.
With this incentive, more than 90% of our
staff became certified. This certification
has now been incorporated into our clinical
ladder.
I also
missed having an AACN chapter. I encouraged
three colleagues to join me, and we formed
the Heart of Acadiana Chapter of AACN. I
served for two terms as its president and
have remained active in many capacities.
I have had
wonderful experiences through AACN and have
encouraged others to join, to work on
committees, attend NTI and submit
nominations for awards. I believe high
morale can be achieved by recognizing the
efforts and contributions of others and by
acknowledging that people are vital to the
team. I am very committed to the Value of
Nursing initiative and speak on it in many
venues. In this time of crisis for the
nursing profession, we need to be proud of
what we do, understand why it is important
and speak with one voice for nursing. I hope
by my small initiatives and examples, I can
instill in others the love of the profession
that I feel. If I can do this, I feel it
will be the greatest leadership role I will
ever have.
Capt.
Elizabeth C. Shaw, RN, MSN
Scott
AFB, Ill.
As the new
chief of aircrew training, I was charged
with revitalizing training, revamping
programs, renewing continuity books and
overhauling the flight instructor workshop.
Fortunately, I had a wonderful group to work
with. We had to work quickly, because
aerovac's equivalent to a Joint Commission
visit was approaching. We avoided
distractions, focusing on process
improvement and building camaraderie. We set
long- and short-term goals for the office.
Individuals volunteered to take ownership
and accountability for the success of their
programs. I felt their sense of empowerment
growing. The more they succeeded, the more
responsibility I shared. I showed the more
senior officers the importance of nominating
others for awards and recognition. I pushed
enrollment in degree programs or military
education courses. Several unique training
challenges occurred. I helped instructors
develop training plans, how to deal with the
student and their own needs as well. I
wanted to make sure they had the tools to be
successful.
What made my
job different than any other nurse? Not only
do aerovac nurses have to be proficient in
clinical skills and the flying environment,
we also have to train in war-fighting
skills. The Air Force requires that officers
be leaders. I believe leaders are born to
lead, but becoming a good leader takes
practice and training. After being appointed
as the senior nurse evaluator, I felt a
great sense of accomplishment and pride. I
was able to leave the training office
knowing that the crew had taken ownership,
learned to do their job better, shared the
rewards of a job well done and were learning
to be better leaders themselves.
Validation?
Two months went by before my replacement
arrived. The crew pulled together and kept
all the programs and training running
smoothly in the absence of a supervisor.
Maria R.
Shirey, RN, MS, MBA, CHE, CNAA
Evansville, Ind.
Deaconess
Hospital
Promoting
nursing services is my passion. My vision
for nursing involves creating a workplace
where nurses practice within a professional
model in a competent, collaborative and
collegial manner. I support lifelong
learning as a mechanism to promote clinical
competency and professional certification.
As a leader, I encourage nurses to dream and
I empower them to make their dreams reality.
Through
reintroduction of the clinical nurse
specialist role, we improved our critical
care orientation and nurse competency. Our
successful CCRN drive funded 28 nurses, 15
of whom passed the CCRN exam. Prior to the
drive, there were few CCRN-certified staff
nurses at the bedside in our intensive care
units. CCRN certification is now contagious.
Nurses are already preparing for our fall
drive. Enhancing creativity, I empowered
nurses to plan a unique Nurses' Week
celebration that culminated in a
well-received variety show featuring our
talented nurses and their children. This
event ended with awarding the Nurse of the
Year and the newly created Physicians'
Choice Awards. To promote clinical nursing
practice, I initiated Cardiovascular Surgery
Teaching Grand Rounds. To enhance
communication and improve nurse-physician
collaboration, I supported creation of a
Cardiovascular Surgery Clinical Issues
Committee. As director, I contributed to
three major change-related efforts. First, I
led a hospital-wide planning team through
organizational expansion in anticipation of
a competitor's emergency department closure.
Second, I served as a team leader for our
new customer service initiative, Deaconess
FIRST: Fantastic people, Increasing quality,
Result in growth, Superior service, and Top
financial performance. During the first nine
months of the initiative, we increased
inpatient satisfaction scores from the 75th
to the 98th percentile. I also served as
leader on a hospital census task force whose
efforts filled numerous nurse vacancies.
In the
Circle: Award Recognizes Media Portrayals
Editor's
note: The Media Award recognizes print,
broadcast and Web-based media excellence in
the portrayal of healthcare providers,
especially acute and critical care nurses
contributing to a healthcare system driven
by the needs of patients and families. A
personalized plaque was presented to the
recipients. July 15 is the deadline to
submit application materials for the 2004
awards. Following are excerpts from
exemplars submitted in connection with the
2002 awards.
Southern
New Hampshire Chapter
Manchester, N.H.
Our chapter
organized a seminar night to give the public
an opportunity to learn about and complete
Advance Directives. The event was
successful, but we wondered if there were
perhaps another way to reach our target
audience, like the elderly in their homes.
We contacted our local television station
and proposed taping a one-minute public
service announcement on Advance Directives.
In January 2001, we taped our first
30-minute educational program.
Before we
knew it, our chapter had its own show and
was offered a permanent time slot. We
decided to call our show "Critical Causes,"
a reference to critical care nurses with the
purpose of educating the public about a
variety of topics or causes. It is truly a
chapter effort. Many members of our chapter
have participated by interviewing physicians
or other distinguished guests, and by
sharing their own expertise on a certain
topic. Our show is done with the primary
goal of community education and a secondary
goal of promoting critical care nursing. If
even part of the potential viewing audience
of 10,000 people watches our show, we will
have met our initial community educational
goal for our chapter.
Jon
Tevlin
Minneapolis, Minn.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Jon Tevlin,
a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune,
chronicled the experience of watching his
wife enter the hospital for routine surgery,
only to be stricken with adult respiratory
distress syndrome. Ellen Hatfield was on a
respirator and in a drug-induced coma for
nearly a month, during which time Tevlin
witnessed and later described how a team of
nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists
tirelessly worked to keep her alive.
Hatfield survived, in large part because of
the diligence of the nursing team. Tevlin's
five-part series on the ordeal drew
thousands of letters and calls, many from
former patients who thanked him for
showcasing the essential role of nursing in
patient care. The Minneapolis Star Tribune
nominated the series for several major
awards, including the Pulitzer Prize.
ePocrates Software Saves Time, Helps Improve
Patient Care
Periodically, AACN will publish an
independent review of a PDA software program
for nurses. The following review of the new
ePocrates Rx Pro Drug Reference Guide was
written by Tess Weaver, RN, MSN, APRN, BC.
By Tess
Weaver, RN, MSN, APRN, BC, CNS, FNP
Audie
Murphy VA Hospital
San
Antonio, Texas
ePocrates Rx
feels like an old friend I have known and
trusted for years. This evidence-based drug
reference guide for Palm OS handheld devices
has helped to get me through an MSN, a
critical care clinical nurse specialist
program, and a family nurse practitioner
program. So much handy information and no
need to search the nurses' station for an
outdated Physicians' Desk Reference or
nursing drug book. And the price was
certainly right-free!
So, I was
skeptical when a colleague raved about the
new and improved version, ePocrates Rx Pro.
In addition to the comprehensive drug and
interaction information that is included in
the free version, this premium version
includes alternative medicines, tables and
guidelines, the ePocrates ID infectious
disease guide and a medical calculator.
Initially, I did not want to pay $49.99 per
year for an upgrade when I was comfortable
with the free version. However, once I got
the opportunity to use the new version in
clinical practice, I quickly found out that
the additional information included in
ePocrates Rx Pro made upgrading very
worthwhile.
Recently,
while working an extra shift in the
emergency department, I received a patient
via ambulance. The 23-year-old female body
builder complained of heart palpitations.
EMS also brought in a basket of 20 bottles
of the patient's herbal supplements. The
patient checked out medically and, in the
absence of any other probable cause, the ED
physician advised her to stop taking all of
the supplements. She agreed, though I could
tell by the look on her face that she
probably would not comply with those
instructions. So I pulled out my trusty PDA
and tried out ePocrates Rx Pro. After
looking up each of the supplements
individually, I found nothing significant.
Although ginseng she takes can cause
palpitations, she had been taking the same
dose for six months with no problem. Then,
using the MultiCheck feature, I ran a
multiple drug interaction check on all of
the supplements and found that the green tea
the patient had just started reacts with the
ginseng and may potentiate stimulant
effects. Now we had something to work with.
Both the physician and patient were very
interested in what I had been able to look
up in a matter of minutes. The patient
agreed to stop using the green tea and the
physician promptly bought his own copy of
ePocrates Rx Pro.
The
ePocrates Rx Pro Drug Reference Guide is now
compatible for Pocket PC and Mac users, in
addition to Palm OS users. AACN members will
receive a 10% discount off the $49.99 price
by entering coupon code AACNRxPRO100731.
This offer expires July 31, 2003. Visit
http://www.epocrates.com
to purchase and download the software.
New AACN
e-Reference Package for Palm OS
AACN has
bundled its popular pocket e-references for
Palm OS into one cohesive package. Included
are Cardiac Medications, Laboratory Values,
Cardiovascular Assessment, Pulmonary
Management, Infectious Diseases, Critical
Care Assessment, Pediatric Critical Care and
Hemodynamic Management. You get all eight of
these references for the price of seven when
you purchase this complete package for $49,
plus shipping and handling. The eighth is
FREE! Visit the AACN PDA Center.
Palm
Tungsten T Promotion: While Supplies Last
Visit the
AACN PDA Center and order the new Palm
Tungsten T handheld device for just $379-and
receive either the Lexi-Drugs Platinum Drug
Guide, Merck Manual of Diagnosis and
Therapy, or Pocket Medicine-Internal
Medicine at no extra charge. Save up to $100
with this limited time offer. Order online.
In the
Circle: Joint Award Recognizes Outstanding
ICU Design
Cosponsored
by AACN, the Society of Critical Care
Medicine and the American Institute of
Architects Committee on Architecture for
Health, this award recognizes ICU designs
that enhance the critical care environment
for patients, families and clinicians. The
recipients of this award for 2002 were the
pediatric and infant ICUs at Children's
Hospital and Regional Medical Center,
Seattle, Wash.
In addition
to the 17-bed pediatric ICU and 19-bed
infant ICU, the design project included a
12-bed unit that can be used for future ICU
expansion. All the units are located on the
same floor as the emergency department,
radiology and surgical suites.
The goals of
the project were to maximize single rooms,
accommodate advanced state-of-the-art
technology, individualize space to support
the needs of each patient and to improve
family space. Care is delivered in single or
double rooms. Infant ICU rooms are designed
to optimize developmentally supportive care
by including features such as sound
absorptive wall panels and ceiling tiles,
minimized traffic flow patterns and a
variety of lighting options. Pediatric ICU
rooms are large enough to provide areas for
parents to sleep at the bedside, as well as
a "parent zone" with phone, reading light
and closet.
To
accommodate variations in patient acuity,
ages and need for technologies, a
ceiling-mounted, gas power delivery system
was chosen. This allows for flexibility in
room set-up, frees up wall space for access
between rooms and maximizes windows for
natural light and views. Each room has
sliding glass breakaway doors. Some areas
have sliding doors between rooms. Staff work
stations are strategically placed.
Family
spaces outside the patient care area include
a large waiting room with play space, parent
conference areas and family space directly
above the units with sleep rooms, showers
and laundry facilities. However, the most
valuable outcome of this project is perhaps
the integration of a highly functional and
aesthetically pleasing environment that
creates a supportive workspace for staff
providing excellent critical care.
Note: The
deadline to submit awards for the 2003 ICU
Design Citation is Aug. 15. In addition to a
$1,500 cash award-$500 from each of the
sponsoring organizations-the recipient is
provided complimentary registration for one
person to attend the organization's annual
meeting and a plaque to display in the unit.
For more information, contact the Society of
Critical Care Medicine at (847) 827-7659.
Myth
vs. Fact: Setting the Record Straight About
Liability Insurance
Myth:
Purchasing coverage now won't help me if I
am sued years later.
Fact: The
AACN Professional Liability Insurance Plan
is "occurrence form," which means you will
be covered for any incidence that occurred
during your policy period, regardless of
when a lawsuit is filed.
This type of
coverage is beneficial when a suit involves
an incident that occurred years earlier. You
are covered during the term of the insurance
certificate. You are protected now and in
the future for any claims resulting from
covered services performed while the
insurance certificate was in force.
To make
obtaining individual coverage easier, AACN
sponsors a professional liability insurance
plan for its members. For additional
information, contact Marsh Affinity Group
Services, 1440 Renaissance Dr., Park Ridge,
Ill. 60068-1400; phone, (800) 503-9230. Or,
visit the AACN Web site.
With
Appreciation: AACN Thanks Its Industry
Partners and NTI Sponsors
The support
of our sponsors and industry partners is a
valued force in the continued success of the
American Association of Critical-Care
Nurses.
We thank
them for their generosity and collaboration.
Partners
With Industry
Partners
with Industry is the corporate giving circle
of companies that are committed to
year-round support of the association's
work. Partner companies support a wide range
of special initiatives usually not
associated with product promotion. These
include scholarships, awards, research
grants, fellowships and many customized
projects.
$500,000 and
More
Eli Lilly &
Company
$100,000 to
$499,999
Philips
Medical Systems
$10,000 to
$29,999
RN.com
Nellcor/Tyco
Healthcare
Ross
Products�Division of Abbott Laboratories
Siemens
Medical Solutions
Stryker
Medical
3M
Healthcare
Wyeth
Laboratories
$4,500 to
$9,999
Atrium
Medical Corp.
Dale Medical
Genzyme
Biosurgery
Honor
Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau
International
Nabi
Biopharmaceuticals
Oridion
Capnography
$1,500 and
Less
Marsh
Affinity Group Services, a service of
Seabury & Smith, Inc.
Medtronic
Physio-Control
Gifts-in-Kind
American
Journal of Nursing/
Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins
Clarian
Health Partners
The Freeman
Companies
Hyundai
Motor America
Indiana
University School of Nursing
Affinity
Partners
Alamo
Rent-a-Car
First
USA/Bank One Card Services
John Hancock
Mutual Life Insurance Company
Marsh
Affinity Group Services, a service of
Seabury & Smith, Inc.
Merrill
Lynch
NTI
Sponsors
Educational
sessions, events and select participant
items sponsored at the 2003 National
Teaching Institute and Critical Care
Exposition.
NTI
Champions
Valued at
$100,000 and more
Philips
Medical Systems
NTI Heroes
Valued
between $50,000 and $99,999
GlaxoSmithKline
Hill-Rom
KCI
Medtronic
Inc.
NTI
Advocates
Valued
between $30,000 and $49,999
Aspect
Medical Systems
Atrium
Medical Corp.
Baxter
Healthcare Corp.
Edwards
Lifesciences
Eli Lilly &
Company
GE Medical
Systems Information Technologies
Nellcor/Tyco
Healthcare
Ortho
Biotech Inc.
Siemens
Medical Solutions
NTI
Benefactors
Valued
between $15,000 and $29,999
Alaris
Medical Systems
Aventis
Pharmaceuticals
B. Braun
Medical
CardioDynamics International
Cross
Country TravCorps
GMP Wireless
Medicine
Healthcare
Purchasing News
Hyundai
Motor America
The
Medicines Company
Millennium
Pharmaceuticals/Schering ACS
Monster
NurseWeek
Publishing
Nursing
Spectrum
Wyeth
Pharmaceuticals
Zoll Corp.
NTI
Contributors
Valued
between $7,500 and $14,999
3M
Healthcare
Abbott
Laboratories
AstraZeneca
Clarian
Health Partners
Marsh
Affinity Group Services, a Service of
Seabury & Smith
Stryker
Medical
NTI
Supporters
Valued below
$7,500
Advance
Newsmagazine
American
Heart Association
Arlen Med.
Ed./PocketReferences.com
BD Medical
Systems
Biosite Inc.
Boehringer
Ingelheim
Dale Medical
Dallas
County Chapter-AACN
Datascope
Corporation
eProcrates,
Inc.
Fain &
Company
Franklin
Electronic Publishers
The Freeman
Companies
Guidant
Corporation
Indiana
University School of Nursing
Integra
NeuroSciences
Johnson &
Johnson/Campaign for Nursing's Future
Kendall/Tyco
Healthcare
Lexi-Comp
Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins
Nabi
Biopharmaceuticals
Pepid, LLC
R. Adams
Cowley Shock Trauma Center
Sage
Products
Skyscape,
Inc.
Slack, Inc.
Smith &
Nephew Wound Management Division
Spacelabs
Medical, a division of Instrumentarium
Thoratec
Corp.
Today's
Nurse
Special Recognition: Circle of Excellence
Awards Honor Visionary Leaders
Each year,
AACN's Circle of Excellence awards honor
individuals and groups who have made a
difference in critical care nursing. Some
awards applaud exceptional practice in the
most intimate of settings. Others recognize
extraordinary and sustained accomplishments
that are in step with AACN's vision.
This year's
awards recipients will be honored during
AACN's National Teaching Institute and
Critical Care Exposition, May 17 through 22
in San Antonio, Texas.
July 15 is
the deadline to submit application materials
for the 2004 awards.
The
following Visionary Leader awards represent
AACN's highest and most prestigious
recognition of far-reaching contributions.
AACN-Marguerite
Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished
Career
This award
recognizes individuals who are completing or
have completed an extraordinary and
distinguished professional career.
The award
was first presented in 1997 to its namesake,
Marguerite R. Kinney, a past AACN president
and past chair of the AACN Certification
Corporation Board of Directors.
In addition
to lifetime AACN membership and a crystal
replica of the AACN presidential Vision
icon, recipients choose a charity to which
AACN contributes $1,000 in their honor.
Receiving
this award for 2003 is:
Clara L.
Adams-Ender, Brigadier General, US Army,
Retired, RN, BS, MS, FAAN, PhD (hon.)
Willow
Springs, N.C.
The capstone
of Adams-Ender's 34-year military career was
her appointment as commanding officer of
Fort Belvoir in Virginia, the first nurse to
serve in this capacity at a major military
installation. During her career, she filled
diverse assignments and held high-level
leadership positions as a nurse and officer
in the United States Army, directly
influencing the recruitment, training, and
career path development of thousands of
nurses.
From the
beginning, critical care was part of her
career. Adams-Ender is known for initiating
critical care nursing units, actively
recruiting nurses and effecting policy
changes that resulted in enhanced
compensation for critical care nurses. She
was a clinical nurse in surgical ICUs at
Army hospitals in New Jersey and Korea and
later chief nurse in Germany, where she
staffed four ICUs and established the
country's first neonatal ICU. As chief of
the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, Adams-Ender
proposed that ICU nurses should receive
bonus pay because of their specialty
practice.
Her medals
and decorations include the Distinguished
Service Medal with Oakleaf Cluster, the
Cross of Honor in Gold from the German Army,
the Meritorious Service Medal with three
Oakleaf Clusters and the coveted Surgeon
General's "A" professional designator for
excellence in nursing administration.
Since
retiring in 1993, Adams-Ender heads her own
management consulting firm called CAPE
Associates-Cares About People with
Enthusiasm.
Ross
Products-AACN Pioneering Spirit Award
This award
recognizes significant contributions that
influence acute and critical care nursing.
Recipients have made far-reaching
contributions that exemplify a pioneering
spirit and influence the direction of acute
and critical care nursing.
In addition
to travel, lodging and conference
registration, each recipient receives a
plaque and $500 honorarium.
Receiving
the award for 2003 are:
Peter
Buerhaus, RN, PhD, FAAN
Nashville, Tenn.
Buerhaus'
experience as a critical care staff nurse
and manager in both small hospitals and
university medical centers helped prepare
him to become the individual who is most
credited with bringing the nursing shortage
to the attention of the American public.
As an
economist and researcher, he is skilled at
producing and reporting scholarly work of
high quality. He has become an eloquent
spokesperson and advocate of nursing as he
ensures that the public, legislators and
policymakers all recognize the nursing
shortage as a public health crisis of major
proportions. He is currently the Valere
Potter professor of nursing and senior
associate dean of research at Vanderbilt
University School of Nursing.
As founding
director of an institute for nursing
research within the Harvard School of Public
Health, he brought nursings' voice to an
academic institution where healthcare is
traditionally equated with physicians.
Buerhaus'
research interests have focused on the
nursing workforce, with studies that have
included employment and earnings, the
effects of managed care, the relationship
between quality of patient care and changes
in nurse staffing and the slow growth in the
number of minorities in the nursing
profession.
Although
best known and recognized for his pioneering
work regarding the nursing shortage,
Buerhaus has made other important
contributions to nursing and healthcare. At
the University of Michigan he guided a
national coalition of major teaching
hospitals to promote federal legislation and
regulations governing how Medicare pays for
hospitals' capital-related costs. The
coalition saved its members several hundred
million dollars in Federal payment
shortfalls. He also served on a Blue
Cross/Blue Shield team to design a health
delivery system for General Motors' Saturn
assembly plant. He often advises and
testifies before major policymaking groups,
including the Institute of Medicine, the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
the U.S. Public Health Service and the
Tennessee Health Commission on Nursing. He
is a fellow of the American Academy of
Nursing and currently serves on the board of
directors of Sigma Theta Tau International.
Johnson &
Johnson
Johnson &
Johnson's nationwide Campaign for Nursing's
Future pioneered a bold new standard for
partnerships between industry and healthcare
professions. The campaign embodies the
company's credo, which starts with the
belief that our first responsibility is to
the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers
and fathers and all others who use our
products and services.
Driven by
the personal values and energy of company
president James Lenehan, whose mother was a
nurse, the campaign raises this commitment
to a new level. In addition to committing
financial resources to help bring more
people into nursing, develop more nurse
educators to teach them and retain the
nurses already in the profession, Johnson &
Johnson has tapped the public respect and
experience of its nearly 200-company family
to leverage nursing to enhanced prominence
in major metropolitan areas across the
United States.
To date, the
initiatives of Johnson & Johnson's Campaign
for Nursing's Future include television
advertising to celebrate nurses and their
contributions; recruitment brochures,
posters and videos; www.discovernursing.com,
a Web site with information about nursing
careers and scholarships; and scholarships
for nurse educators and nursing students.
The newest initiative provides planning
expertise and underwrites regional
fund-raising events.
Diana
Mason, RN, PhD, FAAN
New York,
N.Y.
Although
Diana Mason is best known as editor in chief
of the American Journal of Nursing, her
professional contributions reflect much
broader advocacy on behalf of nurses and the
health of communities.
Mason
started her clinical career in a U.S. Army
medical-coronary ICU. Later, as a graduate
student in community health nursing at St.
Louis University, she studied at the
University of Oslo, where she gained
first-hand knowledge of Norway's public
health services and medical care.
This
combination of critical care and community
health set the stage for Mason's active
involvement in the policy and politics of
nursing and healthcare for more than 25
years. She is senior editor of Policy &
Politics in Nursing and Health Care, an
award-winning book that is a practical guide
for nurses to health policy and the
subtleties of political action. She is also
a frequent speaker who helps nurses learn
the importance of the media as a tool for
advocacy.
Since 1985,
she has been a producer and moderator of
Healthstyles, an award-winning weekly radio
program on health and health policy on WBAI-FM
in New York City. For five years, Mason
served as director of Youth Pulse, a program
funded by the Benton Foundation and Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation as part of a
national initiative called Sound Partners
for Community Health. The program trained
New York City youth in radio production on
health and social issues.
She has been
a long-standing member and leader of
numerous professional and community
associations since the start of her career.
These include organizations as diverse as
the American Public Health Association,
National Women's Political Caucus, New York
State Nurses Association, National
Organization for Women, Alliance for
Education in Public Policy, New York State
Nurses for Political Action, Upsilon Chapter
of Sigma Theta Tau International and Y'All
of New York.
In the
Circle: Award Honors Excellent Nurse
Managers
Editor's
note: This award recognizes nurse managers
who have demonstrated excellence in
coordination of available resources to
efficiently and effectively care for acute
or critically ill patients and families. The
recipients were provided complimentary
registration, airfare and hotel
accommodations for the NTI in Atlanta, Ga.
July 15 is the deadline to submit
application materials for the 2004 awards.
Following are exemplars submitted in
connection with the awards for 2002.
Carol
Fevurly Cleek, RN, CS, MSN, CCRN
Olathe,
Kan.
Olathe
Medical Center
When I came
to Olathe Medical Center three years ago, I
envisioned this small hospital becoming a
full-service tertiary care center. Included
would be a major transformation of the ICU
staff in competencies and ability to respond
to a higher acuity patient population with
more sophisticated technological needs.
Since that
time, we have successfully implemented an
open-heart program, a comprehensive cardiac
product line, a comprehensive neurosurgical
program and continuous renal replacement
therapies. These new programs have resulted
in increased technological demands. The
staff has been through a number of training
competencies, including intra-aortic balloon
pumping, bi-ventricular assist devices,
continuous and SVo2 hemodynamic monitoring,
intracranial pressure monitoring and
continuous renal replacement therapy.
Advanced assessment techniques and
conceptual programs to enhance critical
thinking with new and different data and
technology also had to be developed and
implemented.
Throughout
this transition, the entire organization had
to undergo a change in philosophy, from
viewing itself as a small community hospital
to being a major player in the highly
competitive Kansas City market. Processes
and structures had to be put in place to
make that happen.
All of these
things had to happen with someone driving
the units and the organization toward the
vision. The leadership team-the
cardiovascular clinical nurse specialist, my
clinical resource nurse and I-played an
important role in helping that transition to
occur. I believe in transformational
leadership, intellectual stimulation,
individual consideration, values-based
leadership, the importance of setting a
social architecture and a collective purpose
to what we are doing. I am proud of the way
in which the staff in the critical care unit
at Olathe Medical Center has responded to
the challenge.
Ray
Quintero, RN, MSN, CCRN
Yorktown,
Va.
Virginia
Commonwealth University Health System
I call my
approach to management "servanthood
management." I am a builder of an
organization and people, and I totally
invest myself in the outcome of patients,
staff and the organization. We are
TEAM-Totally Effective and Efficient Action
Management.
I have come
to understand that no one person can reach
goals without a team, a unified body of
people who have a guiding vision. Initially,
I attended to immediate needs, such as nurse
recruitment, staff training and education,
staff morale, retention, increased number of
patient care technician support, and
improved care delivery, as well as
quality-of-life issues for staff.
The overall
vision was a three-pronged approach,
beginning with leadership recruitment and
development. This "shared leadership
concept" involved a leadership council. The
second phase would be team building and
development, which would take the form of
accepted vision, goals, values and norms.
The third phase would be introduction of the
"coaching model" in which everyone would
partake in the development of each other.
Within the
first 10 months, we reached many milestones.
The leadership council made unit decisions
and provided a process where staff had a
voice in change, direction and improvement.
I observed the leadership council members
acting as role models, teachers and coaches.
One hundred percent of the staff was
competency trained; payroll was being
processed without any glitches; and 60% of
the staff had at least one formal training
class or seminar. All of this was positively
impacting the satisfaction, morale and
retention of the staff.
It wasn't
long before healthcare providers and
administrators recognized us for our quality
care, and our reputation soared. We now
routinely hear positive comments about our
accomplishments from patients, families,
caregivers and visitors. I continue to
credit those responsible for the
improvements-our unit TEAM.
Kay
Clevenger, RN, MSN
Indianapolis, Ind.
Clarian
Health
As
technology and time change the landscape of
the nursing profession, the clich�, "good
help is hard to find," remains. The true
challenge today is retention, with
creativity being an essential tool in
today's competitive marketplace.
Our
cardiovascular surgical unit gained the
reputation for teamwork, compatibility and
dedication with fun. This was accomplished
by staging ongoing activities that nourish a
positive morale despite the stressful
workplace.
An annual
team-building retreat has made a significant
impact. The purpose of the retreat is to
have a fun, productive day that rewards and
thanks all staff for the tremendous effort
and hard work over the past year. A motif
theme is determined, along with speakers and
topics, while follow-up work is completed at
staff meetings. The initial retreat resulted
in the development of a unit mission
statement, along with the kickoff of the
Celebration Committee. Members of this
committee collected and posted photos
monthly on the morale board. Goal setting,
reflecting upon our accomplishments for the
past year, recognition of team members and
the creation of a team manual have kept the
retreat focused on results, while sharing
creative and productive ideas. Popular team
activities that have evolved include camping
trips, themed events on the unit, such as a
Hawaiian luau, and birthday celebrations.
Also noteworthy are a thank you board and
monthly "Targeting Service Excellence"
awards.
The retreats
are directly responsible for the
cohesiveness of the unit today. They create
an informed, yet comfortable setting in
which each individual can talk, learn and
share, ultimately creating unique bonding
experiences. Evidence of our success has
been measured in many ways, with the
individual measuring stick being the
satisfaction consistently expressed in
letters from patients and families
reassuring the staff they are the perennial
winning team.
Coming
in the June issue of Critical Care Nurse
� Treating
Patients With Severe Sepsis
� Managing
Hypertension in Patients With Stroke
� Preventing
Effects of Contrast Nephrotoxicity
�
Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy and
Septal Ablation
� Pulsus
Alternans
Subscriptions to Critical Care Nurse and the
American Journal of Critical Care are
included in AACN membership dues.
Looking Ahead
May 2003
May 15
Deadline to submit speaker proposal
abstracts for NTI 2004 Orlando, Fla. To
obtain a speaker proposal packet, call AACN
Fax on Demand at (800) 222-6329 (Request
Document
#6019) or visit the AACN Web site
May 17-22
National Teaching Institute and Critical
Care Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. For
more information, call (800) 899-2226 or
visit the NTI Web site
May 20 AACN
Annual Meeting and Forum, noon (EDT) Henry
B. Gonzalez Convention Center San Antonio,
Texas.
June 2003
June 13
Deadline to submit nominations for
leadership positions on the AACN Board of
Directors, AACN Certification Corporation
Board of Directors and AACN Nominating
Committee.
The
nomination form is tavailable online at
http://www.aacn.org.
July 2003
July 15
Deadline to submit nomination materials for
AACN Circle of Excellence recognition
awards. To obtain an awards application,
call (800) 899-2226 or visit the AACN Web
site. The application is also available on
Fax on Demand at (800) 222-6329. Request
Document #1011.
September
2003
September 1
Deadline to submit research and creative
solutions abstracts for AACN's 2004 National
Teaching Institute and Critical Care
Exposition May 15 through 20 in Orlando,
Fla. To
obtain
abstract forms, call (800) 899-2226 and
request Item #6007 or visit the AACN Web
site. |
