Thursday 10 May 2012
2012 Lakes DHB awards celebrate nurses and midwives across the district
Increased interest in the Nursing/Midwifery Awards saw a good line up of nominations for the third year of the awards, announced today at a special awards function at Rotorua Hospital.
Gary Lees, Director of Nursing and Midwifery says the recognition days for midwives and nurses, and the awards are a great means of recognising the excellent work done by nurses and midwives every day, applying their clinical skills and caring for patients across the full spectrum of life, both in the hospital and in the community.
“These awards recognise those people who go the extra mile and symbolise all the incredible work nurses and midwives do all the time.”
Andrea Colby, Staff Nurse from ICU/CCU won the Registered Nurse of the Year award. (pictured)
Andrea was chosen because she loves being a nurse at the bedside caring for patients and their families. Andrea is passionate about cardiac care and has taken on the project position of Acute Coronary Syndrome Nurse Specialist. As a senior nurse she is a mentor, role model and expert co-ordinator who often provides clinical nurse manager covers. Andrea is The Organ Donation NZ Link Nurse for Rotorua and takes on the responsibility for organ donation leadership and education. She co-ordinates the organ donation process from start to finish and last year received accolades from the national transplant co-ordinator for the efficient and effective way she manages Rotorua/’s organ donations.
Additionally, Andrea is constantly working as a patient advocate, determined to maximise patient outcomes.
Wendy MacDonald won the Registered Midwife of the Year award.
Wendy works in maternity services at Rotorua Hospital and was nominated by a number of staff.
Gary Lees said that Wendy is a very skilled and insightful midwife and cares for women and babies with a passion. She is thorough, works in partnership with women and their families, and is very skilled across the midwifery scope, and brings a confident sense of calm to stressful situations, he added. Additionally, Wendy is a midwifery role model not only to the maternity team at Rotorua Hospital, but to LMCs, all midwives, students and the multi disciplinary team with whom she works.
Lee Bootten, healthcare assistant from Maternity Services won the Health Care Assistant of the Year award.
Lee was recognised for the huge contribution she makes to the positive working environment of the maternity units. Her excellent work ethic, considerable organisational skills and calm, caring reliability were all acknowledged.
Pamela Kirk from the Orthopaedics Unit won the New Graduate of the Year award. Pamela commenced the new graduates programme in January of 2011 after completing her Bachelor of Nursing at Waiariki Institute of Technology late in 2010. Pamela’s conscientious attitude, active participation in the group supervision sessions for new grads and her continued academic studies were all noted.
Kathleen Smerdon, Clinical Nurse Educator for the Maternity Unit won the Best Nursing/Midwifery Innovation award.
Kathleen was instrumental in most aspects of the project plan around making pied air available in the Birthing Unit and Theatre at Rotorua Hospital.
Air/oxygen blending has become recognised internationally as very important for neonates undergoing newborn life support. Kathleen led the process to draw up an educational plan linked to provision of air/oxygen blending at Rotorua Hospital, requiring significant time, energy and enthusiasm, along with consistent leadership and encouragement for staff to alter practice methods.
Poutama Pilot Project Team and Nursing Directorate, Lakes DHB won the Best Maori Nursing/Midwifery Development award.
The Poutama Pilot Programme is an initiative of Nga Manukura o Apopo, a group of representatives from the DHB, non government organisations, primary care providers and national Maori organisations. Charged with providing a Maori leadership programme to support Maori nurses and midwives and increasing the size and skill base of the Maori nursing and midwifery workforce, the group selected Lakes DHB to run the pilot programme set up to support, guide and provide clear career pathways for Maori nurses.
The Nursing Directorate at Lakes DHB put together a framework, set up and developed a set of programme classes that will see participants complete a series of level 4 to 7 tertiary papers to complete a training passport. The skills that will be acquired on the programme will enable the Maori nurses to go on to further leadership training.
Janine Colpman-King, Lake Taupo Hospice won the Nursing/Midwifery Leadership award.
Janine plans an important part in educating community nurse, and has developed a robust, evidence-based, comprehensive range of education services to meet the needs of nurses working across primary, community and hospital settings. She completed her Masters in Nursing with a focus on palliative care, and as an expert nurse shares her knowledge and is teaching others to champion palliative care. Janine’s abilities as a transformational leader who encourages staff development, and provides academic stimulation were noted.
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