OTTAWA, June 17, 2014 /CNW/ - The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is honouring five registered nurses (RN) for outstanding leadership and contribution to the nursing profession as well as two employers for supporting nurses in their professional development. The highest of these honours — the Jeanne Mance Award — is being awarded to Lucille Auffrey of New Brunswick. Four other nurses are receiving Orders of Merit for their work in specific domains of nursing practice.
"It is a privilege and a pleasure to present these nurses and employers with these meaningful and well-deserved honours," said CNA president Barb Mildon. "Recognizing these leaders in nursing care and health sets an example for others to follow and, in turn, strengthens the care Canadians receive. Indeed these exemplary nurses are truly helping improve the health of our entire nation."
The prestigious Jeanne Mance Award goes to an individual who has made a significant and unique contribution to the profession and the health of Canadians. For more than four decades, Lucille Auffrey has been a consummate nursing leader. As the association's chief executive officer from 2001 to 2008, Auffrey helped reposition CNA as a strong and widely-respected organization. She was instrumental in shaping health and education policy and championed countless strategic initiatives such as CNA's online knowledge gateway, NurseONE.ca, and the medical-surgical specialty nursing certification program. Auffrey, also a past recipient of the Canadian Healthcare Association's Award for Distinguished Service, holds a bachelor of nursing from the University of New Brunswick and a master's of science in nursing and health studies from the University of Edinburgh.
Four RNs are receiving CNA Orders of Merit in the areas of clinical practice, education, administration and research. The activities of these RNs have increased the stature and public recognition for the nursing profession, nationally and internationally.
- Nursing Administration — Lori Lamont
Lori Lamont is vice-president of interprofessional practice and chief nursing officer for the Winnipeg Health Region as well as adjunct professor (external) for the University of Manitoba. Lamont is a creative leader who has made a significant contribution to health care and nursing in Manitoba, especially in elder and collaborative care. Today, she oversees emergency, critical care, medicine, long-term care, and clinical education across two full-service hospitals, six health centres and 39 long-term care facilities. Lamont has a bachelor of nursing from the University of Manitoba and a master's of public administration from the University of Winnipeg.
- Nursing Education — Debbie Fraser
Debbie Fraser is an associate professor and director of the nurse practitioner (NP) program at Athabasca University, where she oversees Canada's first online NP program. She also teaches at the University of Manitoba and the University of Toronto and maintains a practice in the neonatal intensive care unit of Winnipeg's St. Boniface General Hospital. For more than 15 years, Fraser has played a central role in NP education programs, helping to shape nursing education and practice in Canada and abroad. Fraser received her undergraduate and master's degrees in nursing from the University of Manitoba.
- Nursing Research — Bonnie Stevens
Bonnie Stevens directs the University of Toronto's Centre for the Study of Pain and co-directs the Centre for Pain Management Research and Education at the Hospital for Sick Children, where she is also the associate chief of nursing research. For 13 years, she has held the Signy Hildur Eaton Chair in Paediatric Nursing Research — the first endowed chair of its kind in Canada. Stevens is recognized as a world expert for research on the assessment and management of pain in infants and children. In the last decade, her work has focused on knowledge transition into practice and on helping developing countries. Stevens earned her bachelor of nursing from McMaster University, her master of science in nursing from the University of Toronto and her doctorate from McGill University.
- Clinical Nursing Practice — Preetha Krishnan
Preetha Krishnan was Manitoba's first full-time, long-term care NP. The results she achieved in this groundbreaking role — in improved quality of care and life — have since led to the expansion of the long-term care program in the province. This recipient of three nursing excellence awards is both a model and a mentor, contributing significantly to the advancement of the profession. Through evidence-based practice, Krishnan continues to set a new standard of care for nursing home residents, especially in dementia and end-of-life care. In addition, she actively promotes the NP role as an integral part of the health-care team. Krishnan obtained her undergraduate and master's degrees in nursing from the University of Manitoba. She has also earned certification in the Joanna Briggs Institute's Comprehensive Systematic Review course.
Two organizations are to receive CNA's Employer Recognition Award, which honours employers who have shown exceptional commitment to supporting RNs pursuing or maintaining national certification in a range of nursing specialties. CNA offers voluntary certification in 20 specialties/areas of nursing practice, including community health, emergency, oncology, gerontology, medical-surgical, perinatal, and psychiatric and mental health nursing. Today, more than 17,700 RNs have earned this nationally recognized credential.
- 2013 — The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto
The Princess Margaret Cancer Care Centre is one of the largest comprehensive cancer treatment facilities in the world and the largest radiation treatment centre in Canada. It has set the impressive goal of having 100 per cent of its RN staff obtain CNA specialty certification in oncology. To bolster its efforts, the Princess Margaret provides financial support to RNs who obtain certification and recertification. It offers study assistance and other education initiatives to RNs pursuing certification as well as additional recognition to hospital units when all members of an RN team become certified. This past April, more than 80 of its 400 RNs wrote CNA certification exams, and today more than 200 RN staff members are CNA certified.
- 2014 ― Leisureworld Senior Care Corporation
Since 1972, Leisureworld Senior Care Corporation has been a leader in seniors care and is now Ontario's second-largest provider of long-term care. Its 7,500 employees deliver quality care and service to residents of long-term care homes and retirement communities in Ontario and British Columbia and to seniors in their own homes. The company offers RNs significant financial help, preparatory support and recognition for certification. To date, 21 per cent of its 380 RNs are CNA certified. It has fostered considerable growth in the number of CNA-certified nurses in gerontology since 2010.
The awards are part of CNA's biennial convention in Winnipeg, June 16-18, 2014. The Order of Merit awards were established in 2007. The Jeanne Mance Award, named after one of Canada's most inspirational nurses, has been awarded since 1971. RNs are nominated and the recipients are selected by a CNA awards committee. CNA's certification program created its Employer Recognition Award in 1999, and it reviews all nominations and selects the recipients in collaboration with an external health-care organization.
CNA is the national professional voice of registered nurses in Canada. A federation of 11 provincial and territorial nursing associations and colleges representing 151,404 registered nurses, CNA advances the practice and profession of nursing to improve health outcomes and strengthen Canada's publicly funded, not-for-profit health system.
SOURCE: Canadian Nurses Association
Kate Headley, External Communications Coordinator
Canadian Nurses Association
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