When the pilot asked for anyone with medical experience to identify themselves to a flight attendant, Starla Ingalls Adamson's hand went up instinctively.

"That's just the way Starla is," said friend Wendy Braxton. "She's very dedicated to being a nurse and helping people."

LEITA COWART/Special (ENLARGE)

RELATED LINKS: • Complete list of Nursing Excellence Awards nominees • Celebrating Nurses

Braxton nominated Adamson for the award.

Adamson was traveling with another nurse from a Madison, Wis., training session that ended a day early. To avoid bad weather the next day, they opted to get on a standby list for earlier flights and were bumped several times before making their connection to Atlanta.

"We weren't even supposed to be on that particular flight," said Adamson, RN, CAPA, a nurse manager in the post-anesthesia care unit and day surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. "However, as a nurse, it's my nature to help people. When I heard the announcement I just went into action mode."

Adamson was rushed to the back of the plane, where a passenger had stopped breathing and had no pulse or heartbeat.

"With the help of the flight crew, we stretched him out on the floor of the galley so that I could examine him," Adamson said. "I learned CPR at age 15 and have also been an instructor, so I knew what to look for."

During her assessment, she felt the tell-tale lump of a pacemaker.

"After the first minute of CPR, his pacemaker kicked back in," she said. "When he regained consciousness, he said, 'I died again, didn't I?' I urged him to have his pacemaker checked by his cardiologist when he got home."

Performing CPR outside a hospital setting is nothing new for Adamson, who is in her mid-40s. After learning CPR as a teenager, she pursued her instructor certifications with the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. She's also a certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support instructor.

"In light of the number of times we were bumped that day, I know God wanted me on that plane at that time," she said. "You're always in the place where you're supposed to be."