Sensational 60
Imagination, vision and persistence define Nursing Excellence winners, finalists

By Beth Ulrich, Ed.D, RN, South Central Editor
October 15, 2001

What a glorious evening we had Oct. 5 as NurseWeek honored 60 nurses from the South Central region at our second Nursing Excellence Awards. More than 300 people from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas gathered to celebrate the joy and accomplishments of nurses. We honored some of our best and brightest and, in the process, were reminded of why we became nurses and how much nurses can accomplish if they set their minds to it.

In this issue, we share with you the stories of each of our winners and finalists. Take the time to read what they have done. It will re-energize and inspire you.

Among them are great clinical nurses and successful teachers and administrators: Several have made major contributions to the care of people with HIV and AIDS. Two are midwives who not only deliver babies, but also started a midwifery school and a birthing center. One started a mobile care clinic, found funding for it and staffed it with her students and faculty colleagues.

Some are entrepreneurs who began their own health care businesses after becoming dissatisfied with what existing systems had to offer. One finalist wrote a book on helping children to read, and one created and now hosts a television program providing health information.

Poverty, language differences, and cultural and geographic boundaries have been made invisible by many of our finalists, who have developed programs to meet the needs of widely divergent populations of people. Two of our finalists have done work outside the United States. One taught critical care nurses and physicians in Kazakhstan and another has helped fund and build a water system, a school building and an orphanage in the Philippines.

Many of the finalists have been or are in the Reserves or National Guard. One ex-Marine finalist now runs an innovative program for female veterans and helps raise awareness that the VA system cares for women as well as men.

Expanded nursing roles abound, as evidenced by our school nurse and advanced practice nurse finalists. Mentoring, as practiced by some of our finalists, is a creative art and one that will help ensure future generations of nurses. Other finalists have taken organizational and professional association leadership to new heights and many have played active leadership roles in working with our legislatures in the pursuit of improved access to and quality of health care. Some finalists do so much work for their communities and volunteer organizations beyond their regular jobs that one wonders when they find the time to eat or sleep.

The common denominator among our finalists is that they all seem to think that they're not doing anything special. Clearly, we know different. It takes a special person to move beyond the existing norms of a profession.

What makes some nurses see opportunities rather than obstacles? What gives them the internal strength to go into uncharted territory and the stamina and persistence to succeed? Why do some nurses make lemonade out of lemons and how do they even envision the possibility of lemonade? We don't know the answers to these questions, but we know that the nurses profiled in this issue have these characteristics and serve as role models for us all.

©NurseWeek Publishing