March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Nominations Due: August 31

Anyone can nominate a Methodist Health System nurse for the 13th Annual March of Dimes "Nurse of the Year" Awards program. Deadline to submit nominations is Wednesday, August 31.

Methodist is the presenting sponsor of the 2016 March of Dimes "Nurse of the Year" Awards event to be held on Thursday, November 10, at Embassy Suites LaVista.

Up to 25 nurses from any area of practice will receive special recognition as determined by a panel of judges. One nurse will be recognized as "Nurse of the Year."

NEW: Online Nomination Form

Nominating a deserving nurse is even easier this year with the new online nomination form. To nominate a nurse practicing in Nebraska or western Iowa, click here.

NEW: Nominees Can Update Info Submitted on Their Behalf

After a nomination is submitted, the nominee will receive an email from the March of Dimes. Nominees will then have the opportunity to contact March of Dimes to update, add to or modify any of the information submitted on their behalf. This allows the nomination processes to be more transparent and helps to ensure accuracy of content that is used for judging.

Scoring Guidelines

• Education & Work History
  Because the judges consider education and work experience as tools (not nursing actions or outcomes), education and work history provide a context for the nomination without being scored directly. However, this information may be used to help break ties or to determine the Rising Star, Clinical Excellence, Academic Excellence or Distinguished Nurse Award. 

• Current Memberships
  Nominees receive a score of 10 if they are a member of a professional organization, a score of 30 if they serve on a committee and a score of 50 if they are an officer. Scores are not cumulative -- only the highest category is scored and only scored once. Nominees who are a member of one organization and a committee member of another would receive a score of 30. Nominees who are committee members of two groups would still only receive a score of 30.

• Current Certifications
  For this category, use advanced professional certifications. Certification in a skill, such as CPR, or certification required for licensure, i.e., APRN, do not count.  Certifications that may be required for a role do count, i.e., Certified Diabetic Educator. If the nominee has no certifications, the score is zero.  One certification is a score of 45 and more than one certification is a score of 75.

• Community or Volunteer Service
  If the nominee has no volunteer service, the score will be zero. If the nominee is involved in general community service (PTA, church volunteer, Girl Scouts, March of Dimes community volunteer), the score is 30. For nominees involved in community service in a way that utilizes their professional knowledge or skills (parish nurse, medical task force, school hearing screenings), the score is 50. Scores are not cumulative -- only the highest category is scored and only scored once.

• Professional Achievements
  The nominee can earn 20 points for demonstrated activity in each of these areas. Points are cumulative, so a total of 100 points can be earned.

• Recommendation Form
  Each section of this form will be scored by the reviewer with a score of 25 being given for minimal contributions, a score of 50 for medium contributions, and a score of 75 for maximum impact contributions.

Questions?

MHS employees with questions may contact Jen Promes at jen.promes@nmhs.org.

For event details and ticket information on the March of Dimes website, click here.