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| Bonnie Wesorick with her mother, Helen Henry, for whom the Helen Henry Excellence of Care Award was named. “In honoring [my mother],” says Wesorick, “I wanted also to honor the essence of nursing. The Sigma Theta Tau International Foundation for Nursing is the one place that her memory can be rooted in the voice that connects nurse healers across the world.” |
Bonnie Wesorick, RN, MSN, FAAN, founder of CPM Resource Center (now a business unit of Elsevier), credits her mother, in large measure, for her decision to become a nurse. Although Helen Henry wasn’t a nurse, she modeled qualities that inspired her daughter to become the nursing leader she is.
“[My mother] was the matriarch of a large family and a loving, nonjudgmental, helping soul,” Wesorick told the author of “Bonnie Wesorick: Nurse on a mission,” published in Reflections on Nursing Leadership. “She cared for everybody who was sick, and I watched her. She seemed to know everything that anybody should know to give good care.” Audio of article.
To honor her mother, recognize nurse healers working at the bedside and inspire others to achieve excellence in bedside care, Wesorick established the Helen Henry Excellence of Care Award. A call for nominations has been issued with a deadline of 30 September 2010. All registered nurses who work at the bedside and have a baccalaureate or higher degree are eligible, provided they are not current members of the board of directors of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) or STTI’s headquarters staff.
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| Bonnie Wesorick |
Nominees should demonstrate the following criteria: 1) compassionate hands-on care; 2) evidence-based care at the bedside; 3) mutuality with patients and families; 4) individualized plans of care; 5) courage and critical thinking; 6) exemplary partnerships with peers and people in their clinical care setting; 7) inspiration to peers, patients and families; and 8) desire to continuously learn and grow.
Nomination requires:
- completion of an online entry form,
- a supporting narrative that addresses the criteria listed above (no page limit) and includes an example of the clinical care provided by the nominee, and
- three (3) letters of support representing different perspectives.
There is no entry fee! Award recipients will be notified by e-mail in November 2010, and all awards will be presented at the CPMRC International Conference in January 2011 and STTI’s 41st Biennial Convention in 2011.
For further information or to make a contribution to help fund this award, contact Lynn Lambuth at +1.317.634.8171, 888.634.7575 (U.S. or Canada toll-free), or e-mail lynn@stti.iupui.edu. RNL
