NurseWeek applauds top-caliber nurses
with a night of awards and tributes

More than 500 RNs and guests gathered April 12 at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton to honor Golden State nurses at NurseWeek's fourth California Nursing Excellence Awards ceremony.

Eight nurses-selected from 48 finalists and hundreds of nominees-received awards in separate categories. Janet Rodgers, Ph.D., RN, received the Diane F. Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award for her 45-year career that mirrors that of Cooper, who was NURSEWEEK founder Dennis Riordan's twin sister. She passed away in 1995.

Cooper, associate dean for student affairs at the UCLA School of Nursing, inspired Riordan to found NurseWeek in 1979, which began as a continuing education company. Today, the magazine's five editions reach more than 1.2 million nurses, with daily updates on its online edition at www.nurseweek.com.

Part of Rodgers' Lifetime Achievement Award is a $5,000 scholarship to the school of her choice, administered by Tenet Healthcare Corp.

"I'm very honored and very grateful to be the recipient [of the Lifetime Achievement Award]," Rodgers said. "I never knew Diane, but I feel grateful. I'll be retiring as dean of the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science at the University of San Diego in three weeks. I've been in nursing for 45 years, but I'm only 21! Sarah Keating, RN, told me, 'Don't retire. You're just going to be too busy.' I've loved nursing."

Carol Bradley, MSN, RN, NurseWeek's regional vice president and California editor, shared the results of the recent AONE/NURSEWEEK survey during her opening remarks, as she began to outline the achievements of the Nursing Excellence finalists.

"There has been no time in history more important than today to recognize the contributions of nurses, particularly the contributions of our finalists," Bradley said. "Nursing competes with every other profession for young people choosing a career today. This is an opportunity for us to showcase the very best of nursing to the public.

"In our survey of RNs across the country, we were pleased to find that nurses are far more satisfied with both their career choice of nursing and their current jobs than previous media coverage would suggest; however, our study also confirms that we are aging as a profession, and we need more young nurses to offset those of us who are nearing retirement.

"However, the risk of getting older does not mean we, too, do not enjoy nursing and where our profession has brought us. [The AONE/NURSEWEEK survey shows that] 73 percent of nurses age 55 to 64 are working actively in nursing today. That is a higher percentage than most people would think. Older nurses make up an important part (73 percent) of our bedside caregivers. Twelve-hour shifts are getting a little bit tougher, but we're still there. And 90 percent of the nurses we surveyed who are younger than 55 are actively involved in the delivery of care," Bradley said.

"Although there may not be nearly enough of us who are young in nursing to replace those of us who are older, nurses who are younger and who are educated actually have the highest satisfaction level, and are the most likely to recommend nursing to young people today, and I think that's a good recommendation for nursing."

As Richard Brock, RN, emcee for the awards ceremony, prepared to announce the finalists in the eight categories, he said, "You're gonna laugh, you're gonna cry and you're gonna be so proud. If you are a nurse already, you're gonna be proud.

"If you're not a nurse, you're gonna be green with envy."

This year's winners are:

ADVANCING THE PROFESSION
Mary Louise Fleming, MSN, RN. "I want to say thank you to all my staff because this goes to them. They're the ones that have done the work. I was very surprised that I was nominated for this, and I'm very grateful to get this. I'm honored to be here.

CLINICAL CARE
Cindy Perdomo, RN, OCN. "When I chose this profession almost 20 years ago, I was not prepared for all the pain that a nurse experiences while caring for a patient, but I also did not realize what it was like to really make a difference in somebody's life. Being a nurse for 19 years has allowed me to do this. I want to thank my staff. They just make it easy because they just work together as a team."

COMMUNITY SERVICE
Cindy Rutter, BSN, RN. "First of all, [I'd like to thank] NURSEWEEK for having the vision to put on an event like this that shows the impact that nurses in many different arenas have on many different arenas every day of our lives. Although I've been a nurse for 23 years, and it has been a fulfilling career for me, the path I took is not one that I readily recommend.

"[At age 6,] I was burned over 85 percent of my body, and my chances of living were slim to none. Hospitals became my second home. The care that I received exemplified to me what true dedication and compassion really is. When I became a young adult, I knew that I had to get back to this profession in some way, and I decided to become a nurse, and it's a decision I've never, ever regretted."

INNOVATION
Marilyn Williams, MS, RN, CNS. "I think that if you're going to be in a position to be innovative and creative, a lot has to do with the work environment in which you work. I work for a nurse manager who periodically says to me, 'What are you doing, let me know what you need,' and thatgreat. She inspires. I work with a geriatrician who is kind of my grounding force, who says, 'Now Marilyn, wait a minute, have you thought of this?' I really want to thank NURSEWEEK for my 15 minutes of fame. I have enjoyed every second."

LEADERSHIP
Gayle Tang, MSN, RN. "I feel honored and privileged to receive this award. This means a lot to me because it's from nurses-from all of you. The award works to promote the nursing profession.

I'd like to thank Kaiser Permanente. It is within Kaiser Permanente that I was allowed to explore culturally competent care. They trusted in me to carry out this vision. The level of trust that our organization offers us as nurses is the foundation of a perfect environment."

MENTORING
Janice Roper, Ph.D., RN. Roper was unable to attend, but later said, "I feel very much overwhelmed. Recognition is a reward in itself, and winning is the frosting on the cake. I think this is an absolutely wonderful way to recognize nurses' achievements, [when they're nominated] by their peers."

Roper, who has inspired a lot of nurses to do research, also said, "I always feel so good when I see virtual lightbulbs go off, when nurses have finally 'got' something. It opens up for them what they can do, and that is one of the greatest feelings I have ever had."

PATIENT ADVOCACY
Becky Riley, RN. Riley was unable to attend, but later said, "I'm amazed. I really felt if I couldn't be there that the award would go to someone else. There are so many good nurses. For me, being a patient advocate means follow your intuition and don't give up too quickly. If your gut tells you there's something there, don't give up."

TEACHING
Elaine Paradis, RN. "Forty-three years ago, I started as a nurse. I had a lot of work to do all those years, which I did with great joy. I'm a breast cancer survivor, by the way. … We have a lot of work to do, guys-have a lot of fun doing it."