Every year, I talk to hundreds of nurses and other health care professionals to bring you the stories in Pulse.
I’ve found that it’s not unusual for one story to beget other ones. For example, I talked to Karen Seagraves (program director of Grady Memorial Hospital’s Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center) about what makes a great nurse for a story in our June issue. I learned that in her “spare” time Seagraves manages a clinic at a summer camp of 600 children.
In pursuing that story for our August issue, I wasn’t surprised to learn that Seagraves had the support of other nurses who often spent their summer vacations taking care of kids.
Through many interviews, I’ve come to learn that nurses are busy, dedicated, accomplished and multi-faceted.
Nurses do extraordinary things at work and in their communities. They head committees that change practice, they improve procedures, they perform research that advances health care and they save lives. They also run marathons, found businesses, start charities, go on medical mission trips and travel to disaster sites to deliver emergency care.
Hospitals, universities and nursing organizations send us news tips and stories about outstanding nurses who perform cutting-edge research, win prestigious awards and earn major promotions and organizational honors.
But the stories about what nurses do best — how they bless the lives of patients every day by their presence, skills and compassion — we hear from you.
For the past seven years, we have asked patients, families and co-workers to nominate nurses who went above and beyond the call of duty for our annual Celebrating Nurses ajcjobs Nursing Excellence Awards.
Last year, we received more than 450 nominations. That’s how we learned about a life-saving adventure on a plane, another on a ballfield, and a charity to send children with cancer to the beach.
We know that nurses touch people’s lives in countless ways every day. We also know that we’d probably never hear about these stories if you didn’t tell us about them.
We again invite you to share the story of an outstanding nurse for the 2013 ajcjobs Nursing Excellence Awards. You can nominate a nurse at www.surveymonkey.com/s/CN2013. Please send your entry soon; the nomination deadline is Jan. 30, 2013.
We will honor the winners on May 7, 2013 at the Cobb Galleria.
If you'd like to read profiles and see videos about the 2012 winners, go to ajcjobs.com/celebratingnurses.
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