The Medical-Surgical department at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake, Iowa, has received the prestigious AMSN PRISM Award®, an honor recognizing exceptional nursing practice, leadership, and outcomes in hospital medical-surgical units. This is the first Medical-Surgical unit in Iowa to receive the award.
The award, which stands for “Premier Recognition In the Specialty of Med-Surg,” is the first of its kind honoring med-surg nursing units in the United States and internationally. It is co-sponsored by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB). The award is given to outstanding acute care/med-surg units or adult/pediatric units classified as med-surg.
Officials representing AMSN and MSNCB presented the BVRMC Medical-Surgical department with the AMSN PRISM Award plaque on Wednesday, June 17. The achievement of this award by BVRMC Medical-Surgical department will also be announced on the AMSN and MSNCB websites, on social media sites; and in AMSN and MSNCB publications.
“It has been an exciting year as we planned for this award and stretched our goals to meet the stringent criteria necessary to receive the Prism Award. Every day we strive to give exceptional care – this award highlights that work that we attempt to do to every patient, every time,” says Deb Colshan, Director of Medical Surgical/ICU.
Hoping to inspire nurses to strive for the highest levels of patient safety and quality, AMSN and MSNCB launched the award in October 2012. The award also reflects the compassion, commitment, and connection that characterize med-surg nurses.
Specifically, the award celebrates units that exhibit:
- Effective leadership.
- Recruitment and retention of competent staff members.
- Evidence-based practice.
- Positive patient outcomes.
- A healthy practice environment.
- Lifelong learning of unit staff members.
“I am incredibly proud of the staff members in the department and all that they do to deliver exemplary patient care. We are proud to be the first medical surgical unit in the State of Iowa to receive the Prism Award,” stated Deb.
There are more than 650,000 medical-surgical nurses practicing in the United States today, making them the single largest group of specialty nurses working in hospital settings, according to AMSN. Med-surg nurses oversee a broad spectrum of patient care responsibilities, another reason the acronym “PRISM” was chosen for the award.
For more information about AMSN and the AMSN PRISM Award, visit amsn.org or contact the association at amsn-info@amsn.org or 866.877.AMSN.
The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN; www.amsn.org) is the only specialty nursing organization dedicated to medical-surgical nursing practice. Its mission is to promote excellence in medical-surgical nursing.
The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB; www.msncb.org) is a professional organization whose mission is to validate excellence in medical-surgical nursing.