VNF Leadership Excellence Awards
Award Criteria
Leadership Excellence Awards are based on the premise that a nurse leader enhances the self-image of professional nursing, has a positive value orientation and promotes the professional development of self and others as evidenced by maintaining competence in nursing and responding to challenges with innovative approaches.
Direct Patient Care Leader - Patient Safety: recognizes frontline nurse leaders with an exceptional commitment to patient safety. Nominees will demonstrate an impact on patient safety through attention to detail, a questioning attitude, and the courage to speak up and advocate.
Direct Patient Care Leader - Patient Experience: recognizes frontline nurse leaders that demonstrates a commitment to serving patients with excellence. Nominees will demonstrate an impact on the patient experience through compassionate care, effective communication, and an attitude focused on exceeding expectations.
Public Health Nurse: recognizes public health nurses’ contributions to public health nursing practice within their agency, community, region, state, nation, or globally by providing leadership in professional organizations, demonstrating outstanding public health nursing performance, or other accomplishments relating to public health nursing.
Nurse Manager/Director: recognizes nurse leaders serving in a management role that demonstrate excellent management skills, advocacy and action to improve the patient care environment. Nominees should hold a minimum of a BSN and should be presently employed in the field of nursing administration.
Nurse Educator: recognizes nurses for their commitment to the advancement of nursing knowledge. Nominees should presently be employed in a nurse educator position and hold a master’s or doctoral degree.
Nurse Researcher: recognizes nurses for significant research activities that positively affect nursing practice. Nominees should hold a master’s degree or doctorate in nursing and demonstrate recent involvement in research endeavors related to nursing.
Nursing Informatics: recognizes a nurse who has made a significant impact on the care of patients and the discipline of nursing by successfully integrating nursing, its information and knowledge, with management of information and communication technologies.
Public / State Government Service Award: recognizes nurses' contributions in public / state government service by providing leadership within their agency or practice setting and demonstrating outstanding advocacy on behalf of all of the commonwealth's residents.