AARN 2003 Awards of Nursing Excellence

Alberta RN, Jun 2003

The highest tribute AARN members pay to outstanding work performed by registered nurses.

On April 30th, the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses (AARN) hosted an awards gala at the Delta Edmonton South in honour of the nominees and recipients of the 2003 AARN Awards of Nursing Excellence. Through these awards, the profession recognizes the unique, vital, and increasingly differentiated role registered nurses play in health care. The recipients exemplify the highest nursing standards to which we all aspire: exceptional compassion and caring, admirable skill, and persistent pursuit of knowledge needed to perform their duties and advance our profession. In this issue, Alberta RN introduces readers to the recipients and includes a special feature on the recipients of the 2003 AARN Lifetime Achievement and Partner In Health (Member) awards. Next month, Alberta RN will include features on the four recipients of the awards of nursing excellence for clinical practice, education, research and administration.

RECIPIENT, NURSING EXCELLENCE IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

Donna deMoissac, RN(EP) BScN MN

Nurse Practitioner, Palliative Care Program, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton

"Donna treats each person with respect, integrity, and undivided attention, regardless of time."

Catharina Fraser, RN BScN

Nominator

Donna deMoissac trained at the University of Alberta, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1991, a Master of Nursing in 1996, and the Diploma in Advanced Practice Nursing in 1997. She is certified by the Canadian Nursing Association in Oncology Nursing.

DeMoissac served first as staff nurse at the University of Alberta Hospital. Six years ago, she moved to the Palliative Care Program at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, first as clinical nurse specialist, and now as nurse practitioner.

Her teammates give high praise for the undivided attention she gives patients and their families as they seek both psychosocial support and help with symptom management. They applaud her commitment to put in place whatever resources the patient, family, and team need for the best possible care, whether in an active treatment setting, a hospice, or at home. They admire the strength with which she advocates for patients and the program within the hospital and larger system.

Her efforts to provide excellent clinical care seem tireless. If she is not on duty, she is on call so that she can respond around the clock to patients' needs. It is little wonder that her colleagues say to her, "If I'm ever sick, I want you to be my nurse!"

She serves on several committees, including the Regional Palliative Care Program Council and its Hospice sub-committee where she is helping to establish guidelines. She has been a leader in developing an important new tool, the Mini-Edmonton Symptom Assessment System now used on all medical and surgical wards throughout the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Pushing the boundaries of knowledge, she continues to conduct research in best practice in palliative care, and to publish the results. She willingly lectures at conferences on palliative care, oncology nursing, and pain management.

RECIPIENT, NURSING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

Catherine Michalenko, RN BScN MN

Learning Resources Coordinator, Red Deer College

"Cathy is an outstanding nursing instructor who strives for teaching/learning excellence and is highly respected by faculty and students."

Lorraine Way, RN MN

Nominator

Catherine Michalenko's 36-year career has been devoted almost entirely to teaching nursing students. She did serve a four-year stint as an occupational health nurse and, until recently, she also held casual staff nursing positions. Thus, clinical skills inform her teaching as she guides students in their quest for excellence.

She has also been a student throughout her career. Her first degree was a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Saskatchewan in 1967, majoring in teaching and administration. In 1973, she completed public health upgrading from the University of Alberta; and in 1995, she earned a certificate in gerontology from Mount Royal College. She received a master of nursing from the University of Calgary in 1998, and a Canadian Nurse Certification in gerontological nursing in 2001.

Her first teaching job was at the Holy Cross Hospital School of Nursing in Calgary. Prom there, she moved to the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Saskatoon, then to Medicine Hat College. In 1981, she joined the faculty at Red Deer College where she teaches today.

One phrase captures our recipient's goal in teaching: helping her students "learn to learn". She is known for her constant and canny ability to pose questions that prompt critical thinking and learning across the four years of the program. Quick to spot the teachable moment, she is equally admired for her open door and her sense of humour. Besides effectively teaching students, she freely shares her pedagogical expertise with her colleagues.

Keeping abreast in nursing knowledge, she has developed and revised curricula several times. Most recently, she wrote the curriculum and course materials for Dementia Studies, now both a credit and non-credit program offered collaboratively by Lethbridge College, Grant MacEwan College, and Alberta Health and Wellness.