Add up the years the six national winners of the 2007 Nursing Spectrum/NurseWeek Excellence Awards served as RNs, and you get more than a century of nursing experience. That's a long time in any profession, let alone one as challenging as nursing. So what keeps these nurses engaged, interested, and successful in their careers after all these years? It's the bits of inspiration they find throughout the day.

It might be the impact they made on a patient. Or the pride they had in watching a colleague's career blossom. The specifics may differ, but one thing is the same: They use inspiration to become outstanding nurses who positively affect patients, practice, and profession.

Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek celebrated the 2007 Nurse of the Year winners at an Oct. 29 luncheon at the Chicago Ritz-Carlton. In addition to hosting the luncheon, Gannett Healthcare Group donated $5,000 in the name of Marguerite Samms (Nurse of the Year in the Teaching category) to Johnson and Johnson's Campaign for Nursing's Future faculty scholarship fund. The campaign was the national sponsor of the 2007 awards.

Finalists were selected from a pool of regional winners whose nominations were blinded and judged by Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek National Advisory Board members. Below, the winners share what keeps them inspired and invested in their nursing careers.

Each finalist was asked "Where do you draw inspiration in your career?"

Advancing & Leading the Profession

Deborah Washington, RN, MS, PhDc, Director, Patient Care Services, Diversity Massachusetts General Hospital Boston

Be they RNs, dietary workers, or housekeeping employees, Washington is inspired by helping others succeed.

"Watching someone have an 'aha' moment about his or her life, that's a powerful place to be," she says.

Nurses are master problem solvers, and Washington is no exception. She cherishes the connections she makes with staff, patients, and families as she helps them find solutions to their challenges. In her position, Washington plays the role of "the connector," by directing others to resources that help them develop skills to fulfill their careers.

"Being the person in the right place at the right time in somebody's life and being there to offer the direction they need [are rewarding]," she says.

Clinical Care

Mary Newman, RN, CPON, Staff Nurse, Oncology/Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children Wilmington, Del.

Dealing with sick and dying children on a daily basis isn't easy, but Newman doesn't find her job discouraging. In fact, she finds it inspiring, to the surprise of others.

"I find it a privilege to be on a journey with these families," says Newman.

With the help of her "excellent" colleagues, Newman is able to support patients and their families during difficult times.

"On the unit, we try to be zany and silly and have fun," she says. "I get myself into a positive frame of mind because my role is to help make their situation as good as it can possibly be."

Community Service

Robert Skeist, RN, MS, ACRN, Staff Nurse/Geriatric AIDS Specialist, Family Treatment Center of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Newark, N.J.

Building connections in the community and with patients keeps Skeist inspired after 30 years of nursing.

"I like when professionals and citizens work together to provide health care with dignity," he says.

In working with older HIV/AIDS patients, he has the opportunity to reach out to groups that are less familiar with the disease. By partnering with a community member, Skeist brought a disease awareness program to the Spanish-speaking community of Union City, N.J. Successes like this keep Skeist invested in his work.

"I like when patients tell me that they understand their conditions and meds better and that now they're optimistic about their health," he says.

Management

Joyce Bass, RN, BSN, MSHA, OCN Nurse Manager, Oncology Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas Dallas

As a child, Bass had an interaction with a nurse that inspired her to pursue nursing. "I can't tell you the hospital's name or the doctor's name," she says, "but I can still tell you everything about the nurse: the way she looked, the way she acted, everything."

Now Bass hopes to be that same positive example for others. She provides tools such as bereavement services to help her staff better care for patients. She encourages staff members to be accountable for their practice by allowing them to have a say in what goes on on the unit.

"What gets me up in the morning," she says, "is knowing that we're all in it together."

Mentoring

Beverly Bohus, RN, BSN, Wound Care Coordinator/Manager of CSU/SSU Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago

Bohus finds working with new nurses especially inspiring and sees their enthusiasm for their jobs refreshing. "They're wonderful because they look at [nursing] with fresh eyes," she says. "And they look at it as one of the most exciting adventures they've ever been on."

When Bohus describes mentoring as "the lifeblood of nursing," she speaks from experience. Bohus comes from a long line of nurses dating all the way to her great-grandmother, who was a midwife.

Now she has the chance to encourage others in their nursing careers. "Nurses give each other energy and encouragement, and we help each other grow," says Bohus. "We're colleagues who will basically throw ourselves into the breach if the patient is having a bad day, and we keep each others' spirits up as the day goes on."

Teaching

Marguerite Samms, RN, MSN,CPT, Director of Education Services MultiCare Health Systems, Tacoma, Wash.

Connecting with others and witnessing their success is a source of inspiration for Samms.

"When they realize they have more potential than they thought they had and they realize they can move forward, I think that is what really energizes me," she says.

Whether it is with a patient, a family member, or a staff member, Samms sees it as "an honor to be with people as they learn and grow."

She also works hard to improve systems so people can have positive experiences in her organization. Be it assessing a new system, coaching a colleague, or listening to a patient, Samms achieves excellence by focusing on people.

"It's just recognizing the humanity in all of us and helping us connect to each other better," she says.