June 8, 2006 — Four U.Va. registered nurses and one team of registered nurses have been selected for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Circle of Excellence Awards.

AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization in the world, representing the interests of more than 400,000 nurses who are charged with the responsibility of caring for the most critically ill patients.

The organization honors selected nurses via the Circle of Excellence Awards at the National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition each year. These awards are highly competitive and include rigorous criteria. Individuals are nominated by an AACN member and must submit an exemplar — a case study demonstrating professional expertise — and two letters of support. All winners are selected by a peer-review panel.

“These awards speak volumes about the caliber of nurses we have at the U.Va. Medical Center. I appreciate their talent, their dedication and their professionalism. These nurses are superb representatives of the nursing profession,” says U.Va. Medical Center Chief Clinical Officer/Chief Nursing Officer Pamela F. Cipriano, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN.

Excellent Manager Award
Kim Clark, R.N., BSN, CCRN Manager, Surgical/Trauma/Burn Intensive Care Unit

Excellence in Leadership Award Rick Carpenter, R.N., BSN Manager, Medical IntensiveCare Unit

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Mary Deivert, R.N., ACNP, CCRN Clinician 4, Trauma Care Coordinator

Excellent Clinical Nurse Specialist Award
Dea Mahanes, R.N., MSN, CCRN, CNRN, CCNS

Excellence in Patient Safety Award
Medical Intensive Care Unit Research Team
Cheri Blevins, R.N., BSN, Clinician 4
Sharon Bragg, R.N., BSN, Clinician 4
Liz Browne, R.N., Clinician 3
Suzi Burns, R.N., MSN, RRT, ACNP,

FAAN, FCCM, FAANP, APN2
Rick Carpenter, R.N., BSN, Manager
Mary Marshall, R.N., MSA, Research

Coordinator, Clinician 3
Martha Perkins, R.N., Clinician 3
Kris Blackstone, R.N.