2008 Recognition Award Winners

RNAO Award of Merit - Cheryl Reid-Haughian

RNAO Honourary Life Membership - Nancy Edwards

RNAO Honourary Life Membership - Shirlee Sharkey

RNAO HUB Fellowship - Norma Nicholson

RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Administration - Christene FergusonRNAO Chapter of the Year - Peel Chapter

RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Academic) - Carol Fine

RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Staff Development) - Karen Breen-Reid

RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Research - Lianne Jeffs

RNAO Leadership Award in Political Action - Julie Curitti and Angela Shaw

RNAO Student of Distinction - Jennifer Yoon

RNAO Award of Merit - Cheryl Reid-Haughian

RNAO's Award of Merit recognizes RNs who have made outstanding contributions to the association and to nursing in Ontario. Winners have demonstrated responsibility for professional development, and they are exemplary role models and mentors to peers.

Cheryl Reid-Haughian is this year's winner. As the Director of Professional Practice at ParaMed Home Health Care, she ensures all staff members use evidence-based care and RNAO's best practice guidelines in their work. Reid-Haughian has also been very involved in the BPG program, participating in panels and reviewing all the healthy workplace guidelines. She is also an advocate for community health. She has been a member of the Community Health Nurses Initiatives Group executive, and was instrumental in developing a certification process for community health.

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RNAO Chapter of the Year - Peel Chapter

RNAO's Chapter of the Year best demonstrates commitment to the association by mobilizing members through active participation in RNAO initiatives. Peel Chapter's ongoing political advocacy, membership recruitment, and involvement with RNAO activities has earned it this award for the second straight year.

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RNAO Honourary Life Membership

The Honorary Life Membership is conferred on long standing RNAO members who have made outstanding contributions to nursing practice, education, administration or research at the provincial, national or international levels. This includes activities that promote RNAO among nursing colleagues, the government and other health-care partners. There are two recipients of the award this year.

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RNAO Honourary Life Membership - Nancy Edwards

University of Ottawa professor and nursing researcher Nancy Edwards' contributions to the profession have earned her RNAO's Honourary Life Membership. Edwards has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and has been honoured with the National Award of Excellence in Nursing Research from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. She has studied the implementation of RNAO's best practice guidelines and is a co-principal investigator at the Nursing Best Practices Research Unit. Globally, her work with mothers and babies in China has resulted in a decrease in infant and neonatal mortality.

Edwards' work also focuses on mentoring a new generation of nurse researchers. Each summer, she offers programs to help new researchers hone their skills to obtain grants and publish their work.

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RNAO Honourary Life Membership - Shirlee Sharkey

Shirlee Sharkey was the President of RNAO from 2000 to 2002, and brings her passion for RNAO and nursing into every aspect of her career. Since 1992, she has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Elizabeth Health Care, where RNs enjoy subsidized RNAO memberships. At SEHC, Sharkey is committed to building a work environment where employees can build on their talents to provide the best patient care. SEHC staff members continue their life-long learning by obtaining tuition assistance, participating in clinical fellowships and attending conferences. Under Sharkey's leadership, SEHC was named one of the 50 best places to work in Report on Business Magazine in 2007; and in 2006, it won RNAO's Employer of the Year Award. Sharkey has also received numerous awards including the Award for Excellence in Nursing Leadership from the Ontario Hospital Association in 2005. Last year, she was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

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RNAO HUB Fellowship - Norma Nicholson

The RNAO HUB Fellowship offers members a one-week placement with RNAO's Executive Director. The $2,000 award is generously sponsored by RNAO's Group Home and Auto Insurance provider, HUB International Ontario Limited.

Norma Nicholson is this year's winner. As the President of Peel Chapter, Nicholson puts her leadership skills to work each and every day. She develops relationships with her local newspaper and MPPs to ensure that the public and decision makers know about the knowledgeable work RNs do. She also continues her own education by attending numerous conferences and workshops, and she shares that information with other colleagues. According to Nicholson's nominator, she will also be able to share the leadership and other skills learned as Hub fellow with hundreds of members in her area.

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RNAO Interest Group of the Year - Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario

Interest Group of the Year members participate in RNAO activities, influence decision makers, and exhibit strong teamwork and leadership. The Nurse Practitioners' Association of Ontario was recognized this year for advancing awareness of the NP role in improving patient access to health care. NPAO meets with politicians, speaks out on regulatory changes, and supports members through ongoing communication and meetings.

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RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Administration - Christene Ferguson

The Leadership Award in Nursing Administration honours a registered nurse who shows exemplary management skills in acute or long-term care, community, education, research or other setting. This winner actively implements ground-breaking administrative-focused ideas in order to enhance patient care, and is committed to improving the quality of health care.

In her two years at Arnprior & District Memorial Hospital, Christene Ferguson has earned a reputation for her commitment to safety.
As Director of Patient/Resident Services and Chief Nursing Executive, Ferguson has helped Arnprior attain full accreditation for implementing all 21 Required Organizational Practices for patient and resident safety. Only 20 per cent of health care organizations in all of Canada have done this.
By using a systemic approach, including changes to the nursing model of care and adoption of best practice guidelines, Ferguson has ensured Arnprior's fulfillment of strong nation-wide safety measures.
Ferguson's open door policy has strengthened her role as a mentor to staff and other managers.

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RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Academic) - Carol Fine

The Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Academic) is awarded to a registered nurse who practices excellence as a nursing educator in a college or university setting. This winner enhances the image of nursing by encouraging critical thinking, innovation and debate about important nursing issues, and acts as a role model and mentor.

Throughout her 18 years as Associate Director of the Post Diploma Program at Ryerson University, Carol Fine has maintained an incredible vision for nursing education. She has worked tirelessly with a broad and diverse faculty to deliver education to post-diploma nurses.
Fine is deeply committed to her students and her students are vocal in their warm and positive regard for Fine's mentorship, leadership and ability to deal with each student as an individual.
Although changes in curricula and program delivery are not easy within academic institutions, Fine has challenged the status quo and worked collaboratively with nurse educators and students to find solutions. This has enabled thousands of nurses to access degree level education. Fine's unfailing optimism continues to catapult initiatives in support of education for nurses and career development and advancement for nurse educators.

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RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Staff Development) - Karen Breen-Reid

The Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Staff Development) is awarded to a registered nurse who practices excellence as a nursing educator in a health-care organization. This winner enhances the image of nursing by encouraging critical thinking, innovation and debate about important nursing issues, and acts as a role model and mentor.

In her 20 years at the Hospital for Sick Children, Karen Breen-Reid has provided leadership and mentorship as a nurse educator. She takes great joy in actively participating in the development of new nurses and embraces the concept of life-long learning.
During her career, Breen-Reid has witnessed the role of educator develop from a clinical instructor to an advanced practice role and has been an integral part of that development. She truly embodies the definition of the advanced practice nurse, continually pushing the boundaries of nursing practice to its full potential.
Over the years, Breen-Reid has led many organizational change initiatives, which she has done with repeated success. True to her nature, her changes are aimed at supporting the learning nurse.

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RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Research - Lianne Jeffs

The RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Research is presented to a member whose work supports the implementation of innovative and progressive nursing practice and leads to positive patient and nurse outcomes. Lianne Jeffs, Director of Nursing/Clinical Research at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital, has been selected for her exploration of the phenomenon of "near misses" in the health-care system. This work focuses on the need to identify processes and patterns of care that lead to adverse events. She is also studying safety and leadership in critical care, and facilitates a University of Toronto (U of T) multidisciplinary academic team involved in several patient safety research pilot projects. A PhD candidate at U of T, Jeffs is committed to the advancement of nursing science and scholarship in Ontario. She was instrumental in the launch of the St. Michael's Research Advancing Practice (RAP) program, which is a research course for staff nurses.

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RNAO Leadership Award in Political Action - Julie Curitti and Angela Shaw

The RNAO Leadership Award in Political Action is given to member(s) who participate in political action that improves health or positively profiles nursing. Julie Curitti and Angela Shaw received this year's award for their dedication to securing increases in funding for meals in long-term care. According to those who nominated the pair, their work will improve the quality of life for all Ontarions in long-term care.

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RNAO Promotion in a Nursing Program- Humber/University of New Brunswick Nursing

The RNAO Promotion in a Nursing Program Award recognizes an academic institution for its commitment to RNAO, and its dedication to promoting student involvement in association events and initiatives. The University of New Brunswick (UNB)-Humber College Collaborative Bachelor of Nursing Program has been selected for this year's award because of its support for membership initiatives that allow students to develop an appreciation for what professional membership means. Program faculty and students are actively involved in RNAO board meetings, the AGM, regional and chapter events, and conferences that promote the use of best practice guidelines. The school's Nursing Society hosts RNAO-related events, including regular lunch-and-learn sessions to recruit and retain members. Students and faculty have also held leadership positions at RNAO, including former UNB-Humber student and Nursing Students of Ontario Past President James Chu. Several members of the faculty have also been members of the association for 25+ years.

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RNAO Student of Distinction - Jennifer Yoon

The RNAO Student of Distinction Award is given to a nursing student who is a role model for professionalism, and contributes to the advancement of the Nursing Students of Ontario (NSO) within her/his nursing program. Ryerson University student Jennifer Yoon has been selected for her outstanding leadership as vice president of NSO. In addition to coordinating various student activities throughout the year, and maintaining the NSO website, Yoon, in partnership with NSO President Vincent Lee, led the coordination of Ryerson's first annual Model World Health Organization conference in Toronto in January. The event attracted students from across the province, and captured the attention of Health Minister George Smitherman. Yoon dedicates a tremendous amount of time, energy and spirit to NSO and RNAO, actively participating in policy and political activities and promoting awareness, interest and enthusiasm for the association and the interest group.

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