mary ellen patton staff nurse leadership award - American Nurses ...

MARY ELLEN PATTONSTAFF NURSE LEADERSHIPAWARDThe Mary Ellen Patton Staff Nurse Leadership Award was established in l995 torecognize an individual staff nurse who has made significant contributions to theprofessional advancement of staff nurses and improvement of the generalwelfare of staff nurses, and who has demonstrated leadership in the nursingprofession.The Subcommittee on the Mary Ellen Patton Staff Nurse Leadership Awardreviews all nominations for the award and recommends a nominee forendorsement by the Committee on Honorary Awards and approval by the ANABoard of Directors.AWARD CRITERIA1. The nominee must be a registered nurse and a C/SNA/ANA orIMD member.2. The nominee must be nominated by a C/SNA, a labor/workforce advocacyaffiliate, or the Congress on Nursing Practice and Economics.3. The nominee must currently be employed as a staff nurse. A staff nurse isdefined as one who is non-supervisory, non-managerial, and includes oneor more of the following:a. who is employed by a health care institution or agency;b. whose primary role in that staff nurse position is a provider ofdirect patient care;c. who is collective bargaining eligible under applicable labor law.4. The nominee must be active and have made significant contributionsthrough demonstrated leadership at the local, district, state, and nationallevels.5. The nominee must have made significant contributions to theadvancement of professional staff nurses.Page 1 of 2

6. The nominee must demonstrate quality of care and professional behaviorwithin his/her practice at the patient’s side.MARY ELLEN PATTONMary Ellen Patton, RN, has exemplified the qualities of a staff nurse leader forover twenty years as a local, district, and state officer and on the ANA Board ofDirectors. As a staff nurse, Mary Ellen served on the ANA Board of Directors foreight years while also serving as the Ohio Nurses Association Treasurer for fourof those years.Mary Ellen has continually served the local unit and district in many capacitiesand continues to serve ANA on various committees. Mary Ellen Patton hasshown staff nurses that it is not only important to be involved but it is possible todo it as a staff nurse. She has been an inspirational role model and mentor tostaff nurses all over the country as an often-requested speaker, ANA boardmember, and a founding member of the Institute of Constituent MemberCollective Bargaining Programs.Mary Ellen Patton has won the Mary Ellen Patton Staff Nurse Leadership Award(1996), ANA Shirley Titus Award (1982), the Ohio Nurses Association DiamondJubilee Nurse Award (1979), the ONA Elizabeth K. Porter Award (1989), theYMCA Woman of the Year (1990), and the Youngstown Recognition ofLeadership (1988-1989). She has stimulated involvement with communityprojects by her multitude of activities with children and handicap organizationssuch as “Fulfill a Dream of Ohio,” “Year of the Handicapped” park project and“Year of the Child” project.Page 2 of 2