Promoting nurses externally is a strategy to highlight an organization’s mission, vision, and values. It showcases nursing and organizational performance as it focuses on excellence in the delivery of patient and family-centered care. This innovative program encourages and supports nominations for external awards that recognize and honor individual nurses and nurse-led teams, promotes the image of nurses in the local/regional/national/international communities, and strengthens our organization’s brand.
After several years of promoting The Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses within our institution, clinical nurses from a shared governance council decided to increase nurse recognition through external awards. The NNAC formed as a peer review process to encourage the submission of nominations for external awards. The NNAC tracks external awards, packages nomination criteria, calls for nominations within the organization, and sets a deadline for nominations to be received by the NNAC in advance of the official deadline. The NNAC peer reviews each nomination to ensure award criteria are met in a clear, succinct, and well-written fashion. When appropriate, nominators are mentored to strengthen submissions to better compete with those from other organizations. This peer review process and mentorship provides structured support to staff who consider writing a nomination and increases confidence in making a successful submission. The NNAC has also gained expertise in evaluating criteria used by external contests, which has contributed to the program’s success.
To date, the NNAC has received, peer-reviewed, and promoted a total of 56 nominations for external recognition. Twenty-three registered and advanced practice nurses have been chosen as finalists or awardees, including three nurses honored as ANCC National Magnet Nurse of the Year® - a 41% success rate for nominations submitted from our organization. Current RN satisfaction scores exceed benchmark in 12 out of 14 NDNQI Job Enjoyment and Job Satisfaction Scale-Revised (JSSR) subscales which also includes scores exceeding the benchmark in 4 of out 5 Magnet® domain subscales. We see RN recognition as a contributing factor to an improved work environment and in nurses’ perception of high professional status.
The impact of this nurse-led, peer review committee is far-reaching. It recognizes individual nurses, strengthens the brand for our healthcare organization, and promotes the image of nursing in the community. These methods can be applied to any organization to provide meaningful recognition and promote its individual nurses locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.