• Print This
• Select Text Size:
• Comments
• 

Nursing Spectrum's Excellence Awards recognize extraordinary contributions nurses make to their patients, each other, and the profession. Nominators submitted information about nurses' professional roles, their contributions to the nursing profession in general, and specific examples that demonstrate the candidates' excellence in chosen categories. Finalist nominations were blinded and ranked by regional nursing leaders on the judging panel. Regional winners in each category will be judged against other winners from across the country, with overall Nurse of the Year winners in each category to be announced at the end of the year.

And the New England winners are...

ADVANCING AND LEADING THE PROFESSION

Anne R. Bavier, RN, PhD, FAAN
Dean and professor, University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, Conn.
During her tenure as an assistant dean at a private university, she helped secure the largest single gift ever — $5 million — for funding the first endowed professorship in nursing. She also quadrupled faculty publications and scholarly presentations, increased the school's grant funding by 50 percent, and dramatically expanded funding for disadvantaged undergraduate nursing students. Her commitment to research on women's health was recognized with the highest honors from the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

CLINICAL CARE
Joseph S. Blansfield, RN, MS, ANP-BC
Trauma program manager, Boston Medical Center, Colonel and Deputy Commander of Nursing Services for the 399th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq
Blansfield and a group of nurses ran two combat support hospitals during 18 months of active service in Iraq. They worked tirelessly under challenging conditions to treat U.S. soldiers and civilians, as well as Iraqi patients. Blansfield directed the first move of an Army hospital in theater during combat operations. His communication with Boston Medical Center staff while he was in the war zone typified his humility and humanity: "This is a job that must be done, and not everyone can do it. However, it has been an amazing human experience. Putting yourself in harm's way to save the life of someone you don't know, and who may never know you were even there, is devotion of the finest kind."

COMMUNITY SERVICE
Donna J. Perry, RN, PhD
Associate nurse scientist, associate director, The Thomas S. Durant Fellowship for Refuge Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
As professional development leader of the international nurse consultant program, Perry orchestrated exchange programs for 400 nurses from 30 countries. Perry is developing the nursing service for a new specialized pediatric hospital in Iraq. This specialized pediatric hospital is the first such healthcare facility built in Iraq in more than a quarter century, and it is being championed and supported by first lady Laura Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Perry researches knowledge that can be used to guide culturally appropriate peace-building interventions to end Israeli-Palestinian and other conflicts.

MANAGEMENT
Ann Vale, RN, MSN, CAN-BC
Nurse manager, Hartford (Conn.) Hospital
Vale's nominators — three staff nurses, two nurse colleagues, and a physician — all say she is a "phenomenal leader" who leads by example. Vale creates an environment of continual learning, mentoring, and collaboration that yields strong teamwork and clinical excellence for cardiovascular patients. As interim nurse manager on a second unit, Vale has given staff the tools to raise morale, and improve organization and clinical care. She enjoys being at the bedside, and takes the time to get to know the patients and their families. She also co-chairs the Corporate Compliance committee and is a mentor for the Cardiovascular Nurse Educators.

MENTORING
Marsha E. Fonteyn, RN, PhD, OCN
Nurse scientist, The Phyllis F. Cantor Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
Fonteyn, an expert in instrument development and testing and qualitative methodology in evidence-based projects, assists nurses in every step of research from proposal writing to funding. Her own research focuses on nurses' clinical decision-making, information management, and evidence-based practice.

TEACHING
Cheryl Tatano Beck, RN, DNSc, CNM, FAAN
Board of trustees distinguished professor, University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Storrs, Conn.
Beck's undergraduate and graduate students are always honored to discover their professor authored the research textbook and postpartum screening scale they are studying. Her Postpartum Screening Scale (PDSS), translated into 13 languages, is used throughout the world to screen for postpartum depression. Beck was the first nurse to be honored by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden for the international impact of her research, and to receive the school's Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor award.

---

To see photos of the nominees, visit Nurse.com/nursingexcellence/galleries/NE2008.

Reader Comments

You must adhere to the Terms of Service and Community Rules for Nurse.com when posting comments. Please do not post disparaging or offensive remarks. You may use links in your post.

Be the first to comment!