Celebrating nursing's best

Attending the second annual ajcjobs Nursing Excellence Awards luncheon on May 9 reminded me why nurses consistently rank at the top of the Gallup Poll's survey about honesty and ethical standards of professions.

Nurses are among the most trusted professionals because of their role of being with patients, said Susan Gunby, dean of Georgia Baptist School of Nursing of Mercer University. They use their critical-thinking skills and compassion, get the most from complex technology, explain difficult diagnoses, answer unasked questions and perceive unspoken fears.

According to the nominations of the 10 award finalists, that role of being with patients can mean assembling an ECMO machine in an emergency situation to save a teen's life or visiting a chemotherapy patient at home on Thanksgiving to keep her treatments on schedule. It can be giving large measures of tender loving care to a patient in a coma or to a premature infant to enhance his or her chances of survival.

For one nurse practitioner, it means having the perspective that no two patients — like no two works of art — are alike. You can't treat them all the same, and the response has to be personal, as if the patient were your aunt, your uncle or your brother. For a hospice nurse, caring for people in their final days means celebrating their lives and helping their loved ones cope with death. Nursing excellence can take many forms.

Advocating for patients and providing social support for their families make nurses "the unsung heroes on the front line of health care," said keynote speaker Melissa Carter, co-host of the Q100 Bert Show. "If it weren't for nurses, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Diagnosed with kidney disease in 1997 at age 27, Carter dismissed the serious diagnosis because she was young and felt fine. By 2001, things had turned for the worse, and she knew that she was dying.

Carter underwent a year of dialysis and a successful kidney transplant in 2002, and she kept a journal. "There were things I knew I'd want to remember, if I survived," she said.

At the luncheon, Carter read journal selections dotted with the names of nurses and their acts of care and kindness. One nurse volunteered to pray for her at church; one nurse held her hand while another inserted needles for dialysis; a nurse talked with her about the intricacies of the human body after the catheter was removed from her chest; several nurses came to wish her well at a station party the night before her transplant surgery after they had worked 12-hour shifts.

Carter remembered learning the value of laughter, when she wrote, "I joked with the nurses at the clinic and felt better."

She understands the important role that nurses play.

"Nurses formed the bridge that carried me from death to life," Carter said. "Through all my experiences, nurses helped me, and I am honored to be your patient."

After hearing the stories of the 10 finalists, I was grateful to be Pulse editor and not a judge for the awards. They had the daunting task of narrowing the field of 255 nominees down to 10 finalists and, then, three top honorees.

I know you'll enjoy reading about them this month. I would like to congratulate our top three winners — Stephanie Rollins, Connie Trent and Christina Woods — and our finalists: Alison Ellison, Maxine Follmer, Traci MacDonald, Sharie McCune, Christine Nell-Dybdahl,

Rebekah Rabinowitz and Quinetta Williams.

- Do you have any story ideas for Pulse? Tell us about your career and what you do after hours. Send e-mail to pulseeditor@ajc.com or call 404-526-2078.