May 9, 2008 — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has given University of Virginia nursing professor Suzanne M. Burns one of its first "Flame of Excellence" awards. This new award honors individuals who have sustained the organization's Circle of Excellence criteria at the regional and national levels.

Burns is an advanced practice nurse in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the U.Va. Medical Center and director of the U.Va. Professional Nursing Staff Organization's Clinical Research Program. She is nationally known for her work in the areas of clinical research, mechanical ventilation and weaning from ventilators.

The Burns Wean Assessment Program is used to assess and manage long-term mechanically ventilated patients and to track their progress over time. Her assessment practice was one of the first to include non-pulmonary factors.

The recipients of the 2008 Circle of Excellence Awards, a program recognizing the contributions and achievements that exemplify the association's mission, vision, values and ethic of care, were honored at AACN's National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, held May 3-8 in Chicago.