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By Glen Fest
Oct. 20, 2003
HOUSTON-As much as it was a night for celebration,
NURSEWEEK's 2003 South Central Nursing Excellence Awards
on Oct. 10 was an evening for introspection as well.
"It's humbling," admitted Plano, Texas, nurse
executive Janet Kirksey, RNC, WHC, commenting on the
list of accomplishments of 48 honored nurses. "It
makes you feel like you're not doing much," she
added with a laugh.
The recognized nurses at the ceremony were composed
of inventors, groundbreaking researchers, community
activists, selfless mentors and innovators in clinical
practice.
Some regularly worked 60-hour weeks, and others traveled
around the world-at their own expense-to teach needed
skills in underdeveloped regions or to learn more about
the world culture of nursing.
The eight winners in the categories of Advancing the
Profession, Clinical Care, Community Service, Innovation/
Creativity, Leadership, Mentoring, Patient Advocacy
and Teaching were awed at the variety of nursing distinctions
at hand.
"It's an honor to be in a room with all of you,"
said Jeannette Crenshaw, MSN, RN, IBCLC, LLCE, FACCE,
as she accepted the award for excellence in Patient
Advocacy.
Crenshaw also was noted for her co-authorship of an
American Journal of Nursing research article that successfully
advocated diminishing the pre-operative fasting rules
for surgical patients.
Crenshaw was among 265 registered nurses, friends and
families attending the fourth annual awards at the Adam's
Mark Houston hotel.
The Nursing Excellence Awards, which NURSEWEEK also
stages in other regions of the country, culminated a
lengthy nomination and judging process that began in
the spring.
What makes the awards special to nurses, Kirksey said
after the show, is the recognition that comes to the
clinical nurse, who usually takes a backseat in attention
to accomplishments in research or education.
"This is truly honoring nursing at all levels,"
said Kirksey, director of women's and children's services
at Medical Center of Plano.
NURSEWEEK Vice President Beth Ulrich, Ed.D., RN, CHE,
kicked off the introductions with a brief recount of
how the finalists were selected, and provided a salute
to the nursing profession in keeping with the heart
of the ceremonies.
Ulrich's celebratory theme was picked up by keynote
speaker Patricia Starck, DSN, RN, FAAN, the dean of
the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
School of Nursing.
Starck told of her own beginnings in nursing, when
at 15 she began as a nurses aide and fell in love with
all aspects of the profession, from the births of triplets
to the disinfectant smells of a hospital. "I'm
wondering if you can think back to when it was all fresh
to you," she asked the audience. "What that
feeling was … and how you stood in awe of all that
was around you."
Starck said her inspiration for nursing came not only
from her mentors, but from patients as well.
When treating a paraplegic in a Birmingham, Ala., hospital,
Starck remembered his optimistic mantra, "I broke
my back, but I didn't break my spirit."
"That led me to think what it is that nurses could
do to help patients turn in that direction, rather than
that other direction, when they have a catastrophic
condition like this," Starck said.
Before Starck left the stage, Ulrich presented her
with a $1,500 donation from NURSEWEEK for the UTHSC-Houston
School of Nursing.
For the next two hours, each of the 48 honorees was
introduced on stage with a brief narration of their
accomplishments.
Members of the audience were amazed, for example, at
the story of Wainy Tesfamichael, RN, CNN, a staff nurse
at Houston's Texas Children's Hospital. Tesfamichael
built a prototype infusion set that has a patent pending
for possible commercial production.
The selfless dedication of Margarita Sloan, MPH, FNP,
RNC, was evident regarding details of her outreach program
from the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical
School in Houston to provide primary care for poor families
in South Texas.
Many were touched when Maryann Guajardo, RN, who earned
an excellence award for her work in introducing a mentoring
program for night shift nurses at Medical City Dallas
Hospital, took time to note some of her mentors who
encouraged her in her career.
While tales of success spellbound the audience, a few
moments of hilarity found their way to the podium. The
unofficial honor of biggest laugh went to Susan Douglass,
MSN, RN, CEN, who was named the winner in the Community
Service category.
Douglass, administrative director of child health and
safety at University Health System in San Antonio, teaches
more than 100 child car seat and booster seat classes
a year in anyplace she can reach parental audiences:
car dealerships, stores, day-care centers, etc.
Repeating one of her favorite ice-breakers about her
career, Douglass said that when her parents "told
me that you don't get an award for the things you do
in the backseat of cars, well, they were wrong,"
she said, to a roomful of applause and chuckles.
Putting a wrap on the evening's activities, Ulrich
parted with a salute to the nursing profession: "If
you save a life, you're a hero. If you save 100 lives,
you're a nurse."
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